Hi, my name is Satie Hayrapetyan, and I am a bookworm. I discovered the world of books when I was a teenager. My first favorite book was Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment. I remember being so captivated by the story that I was genuinely afraid the main character would be caught by the police.
I must admit that for a long time, I gave up reading due to stress and worries. But one day, as I was passing by a bookstore, I remembered the teenage girl who loved reading before sleep and said to myself, “I need a book.”
That day, I picked up George Orwell’s Animal Farm, and I was amazed by it. After studying history and comparing it to modern times, I realized that not much has changed since Orwell wrote the book.
I began Googling and finding books that could help me navigate certain situations. When I felt sad, I would find a book that mirrored my feelings, and it made me feel less alone.
If you want to see the rainbow, you have to deal with the rain.
-Dolly Parton
Books are honest. Over time, I wanted to be honest with others too. I published my own book, The Unsent Letters. I hope to translate it into English one day and share it on my blog here.
I was going through depression, divorce, and, on top of that, a war. My country, Armenia, faced a devastating war that lasted 44 days—an overwhelming experience for my sweet, little country.
I decided to see a therapist because I realized I couldn’t handle it alone. Once I felt like I had overcome my depression, I began writing about it. I created a story about a young couple—a girl who loved too much and suffered from depression, and a boy who wasn’t ready to commit.
My main character also visited a therapist and eventually overcame her depression. Through this story, I wanted to show that we are not alone in our struggles and that there is a way out.
I infused my book with real-life stories, basing it on true feelings rather than true facts.
After writing my book, I began to connect with books on a deeper level. I could understand why authors wrote what they did. When I enjoyed a book, I realized that the authors themselves had experienced what they were describing. Learning about their experiences helps us grow our emotional intelligence, making it easier to face life.
My favorite books are:
- Daniel Keyes – Flowers for Algernon
- Fyodor Dostoevsky – The Idiot
- Margaret Mitchell – Gone with the Wind
- Fredrik Backman – Anxious People
