Desert Reflections Blog

Two years ago, on February 25, 2023, I managed to get my hands on a few scraps of paper - precious, fragile pages that became my lifeline to memory. A borrowed pen, returned after each use because of its scarcity, was my only tool to capture the last two weeks, moments I refused to let slip away.

The sights, the sounds, the smells - they were sharp, etched into me. I was leaving, moving on, but the friendships I had forged made it all the more urgent to write, to hold onto something tangible. With paper in short supply, I wrote small, cramming words into every inch, knowing that once I filled those pages, there would be no more.

Those scraps became the foundation of my book. What started as hurried notes on borrowed paper has now grown into 85,000 words - and it's still growing. My goal is to have the first manuscript finished by March 31, 2025, and I am on track.

Retelling this story, first to myself, then to you, has been harrowing. It has demanded everything - my heart, my soul. It has been both healing and draining, but above all, necessary.

It's staggering to think that something as small as a few torn pages could become something so much bigger. But that's the power of words. They don't just record history - they change it.

And this story is far from over.