Some books don’t begin with bold declarations or dramatic turns. Some simply whisper, and that’s how they find their way into your soul. I Found Me Slowly, Rishu Nair’s tender debut, does exactly that.
Honored with the 21st Century Emily Dickinson Award, I Found Me Slowly is a poetry collection that quietly reshapes what healing looks like. It doesn’t offer quick fixes or triumphant finales. Instead, it unfolds gently—a step at a time, poem by poem—charting one boy’s journey from emotional shadows to the soft light of self-acceptance.
“I thought I was writing my book I Found Me Slowly,” Rishu shares, “but by the end, the book was reading me.” And that’s what makes this collection feel alive: it listens as much as it speaks.
The poems reflect Rishu’s own personal experiences of pain, confusion, and resilience. They come from nights when hope felt far and mornings that still carried the weight of yesterday. But they also come from moments of grace—those first flickers of clarity when you start seeing not who you were, but who you’re becoming.
This book is not just about recovery; it’s about revelation. About the slow, sometimes reluctant, return to yourself. It is for anyone who has ever felt unseen, unheard, or undone. Through Rishu’s simple yet evocative verse, readers find themselves reflecting, remembering, and slowly rebuilding.
More Than a Poet: A Story in Song Before the book, there was music. Rishu first found his voice through Tum Khush Raho, a heartfelt song that resonated with listeners for its raw emotion and healing spirit. Music, for him, was the bridge between silence and speech. And writing became the sanctuary.
In both mediums, Rishu doesn’t write to impress—he writes to connect. His work doesn’t offer answers. Instead, it stands beside you while you search.
The Power of Slow Healing What sets I Found Me Slowly apart is its honesty about time. In an age that glorifies overnight transformation, Rishu offers a radical truth: that healing is a slow, stumbling, deeply personal process. But it happens. And that is enough.
As the Emily Dickinson Award jury noted, “This book doesn’t shout. It speaks with quiet courage—and that’s the kind of voice the world needs right now.”
With I Found Me Slowly, Rishu Nair has given us more than poetry. He has given us permission: to pause, to feel, to not be okay—and to find ourselves, slowly.
📖 Book Title: I Found Me Slowly
🏆 Award: 21st Century Emily Dickinson Award
📍 From: Delhi, India
📷 Instagram: @Nyctophile_rishu_nair
