Description
About the Book:
Varsha Wilson, an aspiring American journalist who was adopted from Kolkata, spends her childhood trying to escape her past and integrate into American society. However, when she receives an unexpected assignment from her journalism professor, she finds herself searching for a winning story in the city where she was born.
As Varsha struggles to find her place in India, she discovers a hidden world of child marriage, human trafficking, and violence against women, and, more importantly, the hope and bravery of two girls who will change her life forever.
About the Author:
Sophia says, “Stories can change people’s perception. As writers, we have the power to change other people’s ideas. I want to listen to other people’s stories, to find ways to give back.”
She was recently awarded the prestigious “Katherine Hass Fellowship for Empathy, Exploration and Inclusion,” from Castilleja school. This fellowship is awarded to an outstanding scholar whose “unique passion for listening to others, as well as her commitment to leadership, amplifies the voices within a group in the name of a common cause or goal.”
About the Process:
The Other Side of the Bridge is Sophia’s second book through our Your Name in Ink program. Together with her professional mentor, Ailynn Collins, Sophia spent the last six months revising a novel that was sparked by her travels to rural and urban India. “When I saw the harsh reality of how girls and women are treated, even in places of progress—when I saw their big dreams, even though many of them had faced some form of assault—I was inspired to raise awareness of what’s happening.”
Cover illustration by William Bottini
Read more about Sophia, her cause, and the book here.