The 101st publication of PenThrill, titled “Excerpts from a Diary of a Growing Teenager”, written under the pen name Nao Yokhe, was formally released by Lisi Shupao, Children’s Pastor of Naga United Village Baptist Church, with a dedicatory prayer. The event was held at the Walker’s Library, Great Commission Higher Secondary School, Chümoukedima, on April 17.
Commenting on the book during the launch, Aseno Terhuja Kavalov, Proprietor of El Mizmor Music Academy, spoke about how everyone can relate to the book as it does not pretend to have answers. “But it reminds you that being human is messy and beautiful and deeply connected,” she said.
She further remarked that through entries about love, friendship, depression, betrayal, family, and forgiveness, “the book shows us that the everyday experiences and the little things we often overlook are where the real emotions live.”
Describing the book as “a soft voice in a loud world,” she reiterated that it is a reminder that even the smallest feelings matter and that “growing up, with all its ache and wonder, is a story worth telling again and again.”
The author, who turned 20 last May, recalled her experiences growing up as a teenager and said, “It was actually a spontaneous decision to put this book up for publication.”
However, as spontaneous as it was, she shared that “it was not an easy decision to make because it is so personal to me and it is such a loud display of my vulnerability.”
With pieces of her mind out there for people to see, she said, “It is also why I decided to write using a pseudonym.” Towards this end, she urged those who share in her anonymity that “it remains so until I am brave enough to step up and claim my thoughts to be my own.”
Publisher of PenThrill, Vishü Rita Krocha, noted that “it takes extraordinary courage to write about things that are deeply personal.” Drawing similarities between entries in a diary and writing poetry, she said, “Both require the writer to bare one’s thoughts and feelings.”
Offering thoughts and experiences through the lens of a teenager, she also stated that anyone can resonate with the book, since every adult has once been a teenager, and young children will also become teenagers one day.
Stating that the book explores important issues of family, love, friendship, loss, and grief, she said, “Reading the book feels like the author is confiding in you as a friend, and as a reader, everyone must also give the book all the love that it deserves.”
Earlier, Ralu Keyho chaired the program.
