My name is Annalisa Anastasi, I am a mother and journalist. The purpose of this letter is to introduce to you my two books: Come l’orchidea nel cemento, published in 2020, and Doma la grande onda, currently available for pre-order.
My wish is that these books may be enjoyed both by my Italian compatriots, and by whomever wishes to explore such sensible themes which I write about.
I am a 36-year-old woman who has been recognized to have a genetic trait called sensory processing sensitivity (SPS), research studies pioneered by Elaine Aron, found that 20% of the general population live with this genetic trait. What this entails is a high sensitivity perception of all external and internal stimuli, which causes the person to have a much more intense and susceptible neurological response to every-day events.
I began my career as a television journalist, interviewing and telling other people’s stories. Recently, with the events of the pandemic, everyone’s life changed and we were put face-to-face with fear, insecurities, the absence of being able to see one another or to be able to hug one another.
In this historic moment in time, the necessity of speaking about vulnerability came to light, especially to young people. Sensibility is not something one should ever be ashamed of or hide; we need to be able to live and feel our emotions. We live in a hyper-connected world and my first book: “Come l’Orchidea nel Cemento. Sopravvivere in un mondo che vuole cambiarti”, published by Edizioni Dialoghi (independent publishing company) was born thanks to social media, and the messages I have received by followers commenting my posts about sensitivity, written in one go…with no filters. Unfortunately, social media often portrays images of perfection and pure bliss, which are not part of reality.
I believe we should teach emotional intelligence in schools to prevent bullying phenomenon, to teach how to understand others emotions, others ways of seeing life and appreciate that diversity.
In my latest book, “Doma la grande onda”, published by Scatole parlanti (independent publishing company), I talk about how our daily lives are influenced by our own filters, our emotions. Manipulated by images of influencers, images of physical perfection, many time unattainable since these people touch-up every single inch of their image; young people are confronted with this ideal every single day, and now more than ever we have to act because there has been an increase in acts of self-harm and suicide, in kids and teenagers around the world. Each and every one of us can contribute by communicating the importance of accepting one’s self for who they are, and how important it is to study and get an education; the importance of a positive confrontation as opposed to a conflict.
My wish is that my books will reach Italian communities in the United States, both for personal read or in a scholastic environment; so that through them I will have contributed to a better future setting for our younger generations and inspire my readers to not let their differences and vulnerabilities be an obstacle, but an attribute, one to embrace and be proud of.