London — Haunted by the perils of COVID-19 at home and abroad, Sukriti Sharma, a senior at West Springfield High School in Virginia, United States, has teamed up with her brother, Simon, to support healthcare efforts in the refugee camps of Nepal and elsewhere by writing ‘Seventeen Petals: The Growing Up Stories.

The 115 page-book consists of 17 timeless stories that lucidly talk about same number of human personality traits: Acceptance, Humility, Reverence, Virtue, Purpose, Simplicity, Commitment, Diligence, Service, Consistency, Assurance, Willingness, Loyalty, Sensitivity, Compassion, Wisdom and Devotion.

Priced at US $9.99, the book has already received rave reviews from journalists, newspaper editors and university professors for their ability to engage the readers and explain the story lines in the simplest possible form.

“Through her strong articles Sukriti has successfully pressed newspaper and magazine editors to dedicate more space to reading materials for younger audiences, as well as younger bylines. I am confident that her debut book of stories will win the hearts of young readers,” Tracy Moran, Deputy Editor of OZY.COM said.

While short, the stories are so engaging that Dr. Tika Lamsal, assistant professor at the University of San Francisco, said he wished they did not end so quickly while he read them. Soon after he finished reading them, Dr. Dhakal said he passed the kindle reader to his daughter and then to his son.

 “The subtext of these stories, written during the difficult times of the new coronavirus pandemic, is no less inspiring: life is about the indomitable human spirit, about our heightened sense of awareness, about simply waking up,” wrote Dr. Dharma Adhikari, who teaches journalism in China.

Professor Dr. Iswari Pandey, an award winning author of South Asian in the South West: Migration of Literacies, who teaches Creative Writing in California State University, writes in the foreword of the book, “Brace yourself for a pleasantly enlightening ride as you start reading this wonderful collection of stories by two beautiful souls, for these are not children’s stories in the usual sense of the term. They are for all, irrespective of age, as the stories are distilled from ancient myths and folk tales as much as the needs of modern life in an interconnected world. Going through these stories has made me feel calmer, richer, and more purposeful. They may do the same to you.”

Deep Insight into Young Minds

The stories stem from writer duo’s deep insight into the socio-cultural and familial imagery of young minds while growing up in a diverse and multicolored society, and settle peacefully in the hearts of avid young readers who are readying themselves to becoming the global citizens, albeit amid difficult times posed by COVID.

In a statement, the young writers stated that the book was the result of their parents’ rich tradition of passing the oral culture of storytelling, the free time they had while being locked down due to COVID and their urgency to do something for the kids of their age and younger in the Tibetan refugee camps of Nepal and elsewhere who were undergoing even harsher health and learning environment due to the ongoing pandemic.

During the zoom-launch of the book, Sukriti said that they have aimed at raising at least US $50,000.00 by the end of this year so that the refugee children who have lost their basic human rights could get one of the most basic needs of life: the health.

She also added that as they watched a TV program on the plight of refugee children while being under lockdown due to COVID, they felt the urgency of doing something.

“The stories were sitting with us. The TV program just pinched us to wake up in the real sense. And we are very happy to bring this out for others to read.” Simon Sharma said.

The online and paperback version of the book are available for pre-order on Amazon.