(By THOMAS HEARTQUIST)
In a society that views emotion as a weakness, author Komal Kapoor is fighting to break down these social barriers by telling a tale of heartbreak between two lovers in her new book, “Unfollowing You.”
Kapoor shared her own issues with emotions during relationships when she spoke to those gathered at BookPeople in Austin Feb. 10 as part of her nationwide book tour. She said she hopes her latest work provides readers a “hand to hold” throughout the ups and downs of a relationship.
Kapoor’s career began when she decided she would not pursue a business degree like her siblings, but would instead save money and pursue her passion in poetry. However, she said she was not always the brave artist she is today.
She began her career on a poetry-dedicated Instagram page. She blocked her friends and family out of embarrassment, and would post poetry that began to touch people’s hearts across the world. Before she knew it, she had amassed 200,000 Instagram followers, and her message of taking comfort in emotions was beginning to spread.
Eventually, Kapoor’s influence grew so large that she decided to write “Unfollowing You,” which would be written in various forms of poetry. Kapoor described her inspiration while writing the novel as “trying to get people to embrace their emotions. It’s the only way to maintain a healthy relationship.”
This is a repeating theme throughout the novel, as well as something she advises those who are struggling apply to their lives.
One of the most interesting aspects of this book is the format in which it is written. Kapoor chose to write in the form of meaningful text messages and love letters, which she said was so that it could reach the younger generations more easily.
Kapoor’s target audience for this book is the new generation, because “it is very common for the young adults of today to struggle with relationships more so than previous generations due to the challenges posed by social media.”
The crowd of about 25 wide-eyed individuals, most with their partners, sat and listened intently, and many of her excerpts from her novel that she read were met with vocal approval, similar to people yelling “amen” in church.
Kapoor finished her talk with an explanation of this book’s origin, which was another story she wrote called “Following You.” This prequel also uses poetry to tell the story of two people falling in love, before having to learn how to fall out of love in her newest book.
Kapoor managed to turn herself into a public figure using nothing but her creativity and social media, and continues to use her original Instagram account to send out poetry to hundreds of thousands of fans.
