- Jeena Wickremaratne-Fernando’s depiction of the highs and lows of motherhood
When she was younger, Jeena Wickremaratne-Fernando would find herself writing lengthy birthday cards to her loved ones, depicting something of a story in the process. Although her brother used to make fun of her for it, she also took to writing little notes, which eventually developed into poems.
Now, as a mother of two, Wickremaratne-Fernando shared that she has always felt a rollercoaster of emotions. And to work through these feelings, she would whip out her phone and jot down little poems, with no intention of anybody ever seeing it. That is how her book It’s a True Love Story came to be.
In conversation with Brunch, she told us that she can’t take complete credit for the publication of her book. Giving us a backstory as to why she says this, she explained that she would write down whatever she was feeling that day, be it happiness, sadness, or just overwhelm, in the form of poems on her phone everyday. After compiling around 40 poems, she showed one of them to her husband.
“He asked me why I didn’t just open a page on Instagram where I could publish them, and suggested that these poems might help people,” she shared. Reluctantly, with no intention of anybody coming across the page, she followed his suggestion.
“He then took the opportunity and shared it with a few friends and suddenly the page started building up,” she told us, adding that it’s still a very small page, but that it’s what motivated her to publish them in the form of a book. Wickremaratne-Fernando thought it would be a great way to connect with other mothers, as she believes most of the hardships that women face in today’s society as mothers aren’t spoken about. “So if my writing could help anybody, I’d be the happiest,” she mentioned.
We asked Wickremaratne-Fernando if, out of her entire collection, she could pinpoint one poem that she holds closest to her heart. She responded that she has two such pieces.
“One is called Our Dance. When I was writing that, I was thinking about three people: My husband, daughter, and son,” she revealed, adding that it’s the only poem in the book that isn’t directed to anyone in particular because she was thinking of her family when writing it.
The poem, she explained, depicts their “dance”. “We sway in perfect harmony. Every now and then, we tumble and fall but then no sooner, we are back on our feet,” she elaborated. Ultimately, the poem talks of love and how it can conquer everything, because to Wickremaratne-Fernando, the three of them are her whole world.
The other poem that she said resonates with her is called Raging Love. It’s about how one goes about one’s daily tasks and all of a sudden exhaustion takes over.
“You get angry at this tiny little human, but at the end of it all, you take a deep breath, and you know that it’s going to pass,” she clarified. Wickremaratne-Fernando described sitting on the floor with her children, hugging each other in “cheer, love, and all”, and how it feels like it’s all too real, which for her, is a frequent occurrence.
It’s a True Love Story is essentially a collection of the highs and lows of motherhood, but Wickremaratne-Fernando’s ultimate goal is to prove that nothing bad lasts forever and unfortunately nothing good does either.
“Embrace the difficulties, embrace the hardships – it’s going to be for a short while. Similarly, the hugs, the smiles, and the goodnight kisses won’t last forever either, so embrace it,” she expressed, talking about the message she wants to send with the book. She added that time just flies by, so cherish it all.
Sharing a few words to those secret writers like her, she advised them to just go for it. “I never thought of publishing a book; it was never something I thought I would be able to do. But keep writing those notes on your phone, and scribbling those poems on your pad,” she urged, adding that everything is going to come together at one point and that you will be ready then.
“When you’re on your path, the only thing or person that can stop you is you. If you are determined, it will come to pass,” she promised.
Wickremaratne-Fernando is currently working on a children’s book, which she told us is still in the planning stage. She hopes to finalise it soon, but she’s still working through how to go about it and what to focus on. “I have a few ideas, so hopefully it’ll come to pass in the next year or so,” she shared.
