Isn’t it strange that we talk least about the things we think about the most?
We all probably have minds full of unsaid things and unexpressed thoughts.
The fear of the unpredictable future, the conflict we have inside our soul whether to live up to social expectations or staying true to ourselves, the trapped feeling from forced routines, and the hatred of the system and the society.
The Book of Forbidden Feelings tries to address those negative feelings that are unacceptable by the society on most occasions, those emotions we unable to say out loud. This poetry book is lavishly illustrated with monochrome artwork by the author itself, Lala Bohang. Each illustration represents her thoughts and brings the poetry to the next level.
Reading this book, for us, is like talking to ourselves and have our thoughts and feelings be put into words. It’s like a key that opens the darkest room in our hearts. It validates our disapprovals and made us realize that we’re not the only human being that can be miserable and brokenhearted.
Although it is wrapped in a melancholic undertone, Lala added some positive values into her poetries, making them less destructive for the readers. Instead, it helps us to embrace and accept the negativity, as it is a part of us. Like what Mia Maria said in the prolog, “the freedom came when fear is understood and overcome.”
This book is perfect to read after having a terrible heartbreak, or simply at times when you’re contemplating and asking to yourself, “is it okay not to be okay?”
“The Book of Forbidden Feelings”
Fiction
Text & illustration by Lala Bohang
Published by Gramedia Pustaka Utama, Jakarta
IDR 88,000
SBH / ve
Beauty & Beyond 