I believe women can create magic, says US author at book launch

What might a US-based author-psychotherapist and a Jalandhar-founded book club have in common? A love of books and the power of women sharing their collective experiences.

Shai C, a US and Mumbai-based emotionologist, psychotherapist, certified intimacy coach, and practitioner of cognitive behavioural therapy and marriage and family therapy, on Thursday addressed a special session for the women of The Bookworms, a Jalandhar-based book club. At the session, her new book Love That Was Meant for Me was launched for the first time in Punjab and welcomed as a thought-provoking read.

Known as a transformative force for women seeking clarity, healing, and deeper self-connection, Shai has penned her new book detailing the journeys of women, told from her own perspective. A speaker, poet, mother and above all a woman promoting healing for her tribe, Shai held her heart out to the women of Jalandhar.

"It is okay to pause, to breathe, to feel and to return when the heart is ready," she told the women gathered to listen to her. A profoundly intimate and soul-stirring exploration of experiences many women carry, the book delves into loss, betrayal, heartbreak, self-doubt, and the quiet resilience that keeps women moving forward. Through her writing, Shai opens the door to her own vulnerable truth-not to revisit pain, but to honour and transform it.

Shai, who believes in red lipstick and wears it proudly on the cover of her book, told The Tribune, "Red lips hold no shame. Red lips resonate love and speak without holding back. Red is also the colour of the Goddess."

She added, "I believe women can create magic. The session with Bookworms was one of my most successful. There is strength in spaces where women don't compete with each other but where their best competition is themselves. I look to speak to women and tell them that often they are expected to represent or uphold an extreme-it's either patriarchy or feminism. But love and well-being can be found in middle ground where they are neither, and only the best versions of themselves, building other women around them."

Shai will also hold book launches in Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Amritsar, Ludhiana, and other cities.

At the event, the author shared that the book is more than a memoir-it is a mirror for every woman who has ever felt unseen, unheard, or unsure of her worth. It offers a compassionate pathway to emotional processing, radical self-love, and the courage to rewrite one's story with grace and power.

Shai also reminded women of an essential truth: healing is not linear. Through her work, she creates a sanctuary where each woman can meet herself with softness and strength. The Jalandhar session was hosted through a common friend, Kanchan Nayyar, a member of The Bookworms.

Notably, The Bookworms is a Jalandhar community that has become a place of inspiration, learning, and genuine sisterhood-shaped by the remarkable women who are its members. Founded in 2017 by Jalandhar social activist and disability rights pioneer Anjali Dada as a small book-exchange circle, The Bookworms has grown organically into two vibrant groups of discerning women-each passionate about reading, uplifting one another, and growing together. Every woman brings her own voice, warmth, and strength, giving the community its distinct personality and spirit.

The book meet on December 4 was co-hosted by Bhumika Batra, Kanchan Nayyar, Kiran Sanghera, Jot Bawa, Dr Sidhu, and Rashima, an interior decorator running the brand Old Walls.