Emma Dhesi

My journey to publication hasn’t been a straight line. It’s taken me many years to return to my calling. I was once told that the job we wanted at eight years old, is really the thing we want to do most in life.

At eight years old, I wanted to be an author, and the book that changed my life was Ballet Shoes by Noel Stretfield. Oh, the magic of make believe!

Writing is a solitary life and played for the long game. As a young person this was not for me. I lacked the maturity or confidence to sit down by myself for long stretches of time and put pen to paper (I still write longhand!). Prolonged periods of inactivity were interspersed with only short periods of intense writing.

At long last motherhood forced me to start maturing and I waved goodbye to a busy social life, and said hello to a life of early rises and bedtime routines. This cleared time for me to write more regularly and with increased intention.

After the birth of my second child Post Natal Depression kicked in and took hold. As a coping mechanism I journaled what I was going through, and I often imagined what it would be like just to get up and walk away. Thankfully I never took such drastic action myself, instead I created a fictional character who did, and followed her story.

That story became my first novel, The Day She Came Home. It has turned out to be a powerful way to share my feelings with other women struggling with PND, and help them know they are not alone.

Outside of writing I (now!) love days out with my family. We’re so enjoying being back in the UK that we’re like tourists, exploring Edinburgh and the rest of Scotland.

My husband and I have always loved travelling and now that the children are getting older, we hope to introduce them to the adventure that is world travel.

Emma Dhesi Website