Synopsis
Diary from Heaven is one of my earliest works—my second, in fact. This book was originally published independently in 2018, and at the time, I didn’t have the budget to get it professionally edited. Back then, I had no real understanding of how to write a book, and my craft has grown immensely since. Today, with The Phantom of Freedom marking my 13th book, I wanted to revisit where it all began. Over the years, many of my colleagues have urged me to revisit, edit, and repackage my early books—but I prefer to keep them exactly as they are. I’ve always loved the Inkitt platform, so I thought it was the perfect place to share some of my early writing.
So, here it is—Diary from Heaven:
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The human brain is often compared to outer space, as much of it remains uncharted and mysterious. Despite advances in science and medicine, there are aspects of the brain that even experts cannot fully explain.
“In my search for peace, I turned to drugs, but all I found were pieces of myself left shattered along the way.”
How do you know that you are awake? The logical answer will be:
- when you physically feel things by touch or someone else touching you; or
- when you are moving around physically; or
- when your eyes are open; or when an injury leaves a mark on your body; or
- when you feel pain.
The list is exhaustive because different people might give different answers. However, what if even after all of the above, you are not sure if you are awake or not? What if you are not sure about whatever that is happening around you is real or just a bad dream?
Welcome to the world of a junky because that is exactly what drugs will do to your brain, and when you forcefully try to wake yourself up out of that nightmare, more nightmares follow you in real life. The ease with which drugs are available is baffling.
Withdrawal—the aftermath of quitting drugs—feels like a chaotic journey on a pothole-ridden road, with your car on autopilot and completely out of control. You have no control over the speed or the brake; you are in for the ride of your life stuck in your seat, taking in the jolts, hoping and praying that it all ends soon. Seconds spent on such trips seem like an eternity and jerks don’t seem to end, it looks like a never-ending nightmare. Withdrawal can be a testing phase for many. Majority of the people don’t make it through this phase and indulge in self-harm, while some commit suicide and others give up and merrily go back to drugs. Imagine if you had to do it (give up drugs, i.e.) while living with your family under the same roof and not being able to tell them that you were, in fact, a junky on the way to redemption, so you are trying to give up. The constant nightmares during the withdrawal phase can be torturous.
The common perception is that people do drugs out of choice, for pleasure. Well, they are partly right because for most, it starts as fun, by choice, and later it becomes an addiction, and they no longer have a choice, while others are forced into it by various means. Choice or not, drugs are a menace which has the potential to destroy lives, promising young lives like the life of our protagonist Arun.
"Hi! I’m Arun, and Diary from Heaven is my confession. I am ‘the one’ in this story—if you catch my drift. I was a typical Indian boy from a middle-class family with simple life and lots of friends. Music was my life; I was always hooked on it. You could call me an eternal junkie because if I was not high on drugs or alcohol, I was always lost in my high-speed thoughts. I always believed that I could not control my thoughts and that my brain was like a railway track on which the bullet train of my thoughts ran uncontrolled."
"As a kid, watching the movie Vijeta sparked my dream of becoming a fighter pilot. Everything changed when my father moved to Gurgaon, a big city compared to the place where I grew up. The fast-moving and glitzy life in the big city changed the direction of my life from aspiring to be a Fighter Pilot to something that is every parent’s worst nightmare. I screwed my life, and in the process, hurt my family as well."
"I loved the magical world of movies. I was in awe of the movie characters and their fascinating world on screen. As a teenager, I was fond of college rom-com movies of the early ’90s. I aspired to be part of a happening group and fall in love when I got into a college. So, I guess I was just an average shy and emotional young boy with vivid dreams."
"Diary from Heaven is my bumpy and emotional journey to heaven (some call it hell) and back.”
