By Gayanga Dissanayaka –
Vichalya Wijesuriya Galhena has always been someone who writes when she feels something deeply. Even as a child, she recalls writing her first poem when her beloved pet passed away, as a way of dealing with grief. Over time, writing stayed with her like a quiet companion in every step of her life. This habit stretched into her teenhood, which is when she started journaling a lot, mostly to process emotions and to make sense of things that she didn’t always know how to say out loud. Later, professionally, writing became something she had to do professionally such as for campaigns and content writing. However, the kind of writing that made her a published author is more personal, almost like a quiet space that she comes back to when she needed to understand herself a bit better. Today, Vichalya is the author of “From Needles to Nipples” published through The Jam Fruit Tree Publications, which is a first-time mum’s survival guide to infertility, pregnancy, postpartum experiences and everything else that encompasses it.
Vichalya always loved reading, but not only to grasp the story. Beyond writing, she likes noticing how something is written – the tone, the pauses, what’s said and what’s left unsaid. “I read a bit like a normal person and a bit like a very judgy writer too,” she said. Books give her a certain calm. It’s as if she’s sitting with someone who understands something she is going through. She mentioned how there’s also a quiet power in them. In the way they can make one feel seen without even knowing them. That is what draws Vichalya to this space.
“Writing this honestly felt like a release. This whole creative project let me say the things we don’t always say out loud,” said the author. Vichalya went through a pretty rigorous fertility journey and this experience was the major motivation for her to write “From Needles to Nipples” “I underwent treatments, IVF and honestly, it’s not pretty. It strips you down. You see sides of yourself you didn’t even know existed – the vulnerable, the impatient, the hopeful, the broken, all of it,” she said.
Vichalya didn’t start writing her book during this process. She believes that she was too deep in the entire chaos of it to process it properly. The author noted how she started writing this book during postpartum, which is when everything caught up to her. Even though Vichalya had a beautiful support system around her, she mentioned how there were moments she still felt very alone. Vichalya realised that a lot of what she was feeling wasn’t being spoken about openly. “I didn’t want anyone else to feel like that. Therefore I think this book came from a place of wanting to say, this is what it really feels like… and you’re not alone in it,” she said.
Vichalya began this book by just documenting everything she could remember. Not in a perfect way, but just messy, emotional notes. After this, she slowly began structuring it into sections and chapters so that it made sense as a journey. “A lot of it came from memory and from feelings that were still very fresh. Some parts were easy to write because I could feel them again so clearly. However, some parts were more difficult because I had to go back to places that I had already pushed away,” reminisced the author.
“From Needles to Nipples” covers the full journey, which is the entire scope of infertility, pregnancy, and postpartum. The author has not only focused on it medically as well, but also the emotional, mental and cultural side of it, especially in a Sri Lankan context where a lot of things are felt but not always said. According to the author, getting the tone of the book correct was the most difficult. She didn’t want the book to feel like a sad, heavy story, even though parts of it are. What she really wanted was for it to feel real, but still something someone can read without feeling drained. “I also struggled a bit with honesty. There were moments where I wondered, should I really say this? But then I kept coming back to why I started, and that helped me push through,” Vichalya said. “And then editing was a whole different challenge. Deciding what to cut, what to keep, where to go deeper. Sometimes, editing can be more difficult than writing.”
The author explained how most of this book was written in the most unglamorous, real setting where she would sit on her feeding chair, with a pillow on her lap and her laptop on top of it. She mentioned how her baby was about a month old when she started writing her book. “Those little pockets of time when she was asleep was the only time in the day that felt like mine. I would write as much as I could, and the moment she woke up, I’d shut everything and go back to being fully present with her,” she said. “Looking back, that phase feels very special. Tiring but special.”
“From Needles to Nipples” is the guide the author herself wished she had when she was going through all the challenges. Her goal is to make someone like her feel seen and understood. “I hope it takes away that feeling of is it just me? And I hope it reminds women that what they’re feeling, whether it’s the confusion, the frustration, even the guilt sometimes is all very human and natural,” said Vichalya. “If this book can make even a small part of the journey feel lighter or less lonely, I think it’s done its job. This book is also for anyone who simply wants to understand and educate themselves on this topic.”
Vichalya highlighted how motherhood is definitely beautiful but added how it can also be messy, overwhelming, and sometimes heavier than we expect. She believes that it’s important we allow space for all of that without judgment. “If you’re in this journey, or thinking about it, try to embrace it as it comes. Not just the picture-perfect moments, but the tired, confusing, emotional moments too. Because ultimately. everything is part of the story,” said the author.
