Painsplained by Charukesi Ramadurai

Blurb

There are books of both the memoirs and self-help variety on dealing with depression or living with schizophrenia. There are also books on some of the more common physical health issues and dreaded ailments – cancer and diabetes, just for instance. But there is not much about physical, chronic pain in the Indian scenario. Chronic pain is a subject that needs to be normalised. And people suffering from chronic pain need more empathy and understanding about their lives. This book is a starting point for conversations about chronic pain, particularly the kinds that affect women. Through it Charu shares her journey of struggling to find acceptance from herself and others, as well as finding medical help to manage the pain and improve her quality of life. This book is not her story alone. It includes examples and anecdotes from other women dealing with other kinds of chronic pains, as well as inputs from pain management professionals. Through this book Charu hopes to inform and inspire other women, and show them that it is possible to have a good life and a good career, in spite of pain that becomes a part of your life.

Bio

Charukesi is a freelance journalist and photographer, writing on travel, food, art and culture, development, and gender issues for several international publications, including the BBC, Forbes, South China Morning Post, The Guardian, The Christian Science Monitor and Nikkei Asian Review. Her travel experiences range from playing pied piper to curious street children in rural India to playing the alphorn in the Swiss Alps.

Charukesi has several degrees under her belt, including a University rank in BA (Economics) from Madras University, an MBA from MICA and a Master's degree in Social Psychology and Social Research Methods from the LSE. However, she has let none of this interfere with her education. Mark Twain would approve.

She is also the co-author of “Everything You Wanted to Write About Freelance Journalism (but didn’t know whom to ask)”, a guide to breaking into freelance journalism, published by Westland. She currently lives in Kuala Lumpur, and hopes to visit at least a hundred countries in her life.