pt.2: the dream

esther smiling with her mouth open

hello beautiful people!

i'm happy to share that digital versions of light soup are available for purchase! you can order your copy by clicking here. i had to resubmit the manuscript to amazon for review so the paperback copy is coming soon but you can click here to sign up to know when it's available. in this blog post, i will be answering questions about light soup based on conversations i've had and questions people posed on instagram. there were twelve questions in total so i separated them into two posts. this first set of questions focus mainly on my inspirations and aspirations for light soup.

the cover

you wrote a book?

haha, yes!

what other projects are you working on?

my other projects include: braiding neater cornrows, reading the entire bible, learning how to do a pull up (i’ve been at this one for four years), and turning my balcony into an urban garden

young esther

when did you know you wanted to be an author?

i remember writing biology-inspired short stories for the short answer section of my exam in my college intro to biology class. you'd think this was the moment i thought to myself, "i want to be a writer. let me take this more seriously." haha. nope. looking back, there were a couple of moments like the one i just described where it should have been clear to me.

esther in high school participating in an after school medical program

the first time i recall putting it in writing was in 2019. i sent the text below to my best friend from the fifth grade. when i returned to the u.s, i told one of my brothers i was writing a book. he said something along the lines of “you’ve been talking about this for years”.

*cue dramatic reading of “a dream deferred”*

esther's text to her best friend from the fifth grade

what inspired this book?

my experiences and other people’s stories

what do you hope your book evokes in readers?

this is somehting i'm excited (and nervous!) to get feedback on. the writing and editing processes were filled with a range of emotions and i find myself wondering which ones (if any) translated over. i hope amusement, joy, and nostalgia are on the list.

esther at a vineyard

until next time,

esther

i speak of dreams i cannot afford to dream

of promised lands i have yet to see

of faces bright on sunday morning with glory and vaseline

i speak to God in five languages but only know three

esther smiling with her mouth open (again)