: K. Vaishali won the Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar 2024 award for her memoir, "Homeless: Growing Up Lesbian and Dyslexic in India". Taking from her lived experiences, her book talks about navigating the double challenge of being a homosexual and a neurodivergent person.
Writing has been a safe space, where I could express myself without worrying about people's perceptions of me or putting myself in danger. I also write for a living at a tech company. Going through a tough time while shifting universities, I took refuge in writing.
UGC has no guidelines on what accommodations are needed for dyslexic people. Due to this, I couldn't finish multiple degrees. Finally, I started writing this book when I was at the University of Hyderabad, just to have an outlet for my feelings.
Initially, I thought of writing a fiction book but as I moved into my own house and started feeling safe to express myself gradually, I turned it into a memoir. It didn't happen gracefully. Getting diagnosed in your 20s adds layers of confusion because you're used to masking.
You don't know if others are having the same experience. I spend more effort in doing these things and it's not too apparent to others. Writing, therefore, was the biggest challenge.
And that is precisely why I like writing. It is fascinating to overcome these challenges. Nowadays, I'm kinder to myself.
I use a screen reader, a voice-to-text software. I'm waiting for AI to make things easier for me. We do have some tools already that a.