Writing With Purpose

A quick online search of author and JIS alumna Jyoti Gopal brings up eight beautifully illustrated books filled with stirring stories of identity, belonging, and community — themes that deeply resonate with third-culture kids. But Jyoti never imagined she’d become a writer. 

As a student at JIS, she loved reading but dreaded writing assignments, preferring to leave the literary devices to her brother, the poet, while she focused on her studies.

"Creative writing was a struggle for me in school. I was academic; I would do my history projects, my research, but creative writing was not something that I particularly enjoyed,” Jyoti says with a laugh. “I didn't like writing on demand and usually resisted writing on demand. I did love English class, I loved ceramics class, I loved reading books, so I spent a lot of time in the library.”

So, what changed?

The Start of a Storyteller

Her path as an author unfolded gradually through kindergarten classrooms, motherhood, and six weeks in a cast (more of that later!) before flourishing in 2022 with the release of her debut picture book American Desi. But her love of picture books started long before that, taking root when she started reading even before kindergarten. It was a Grade 4 classroom ritual that would become an indelible childhood memory, a major source of inspiration, and her belief in the power of storytimes.

"I remember Mr. Ezell in fourth grade reading us chapters from Watership Down at the end of the day. We would all sit on the floor, he would stand against his desk, and he would read us chapters from that book — it remains one of my favorites,” she recalls.

"I now have my own copies, and I read [the book] to my daughters when they were old enough. I read it to them chapter by chapter because the experience for me was so powerful; I love the story so much."

Finding the Joy of Teaching

Young Jyoti fully embraced the magic of stories and storytelling, taking it with her throughout her time at JIS and then passing it on to her own students as a teacher. 

Though she never planned to become a writer, she always knew she wanted to be an educator. After graduation, she moved to India for university and started working with deaf children and children with cerebral palsy in a small village.

“It was straight out of college, and I loved it. They hired me because of my being an international school alumna, that I would have different ways of teaching because I experienced different ways of learning than what was typically done in Indian schools at that time,” she shares. “So, being from JIS was a plus for me in getting that job, and I discovered that I really loved [teaching].”

Jyoti also began working with village women training to be teachers, who further affirmed her newfound passion for education. After completing her master’s degree in social work specializing in family and child welfare, she continued her teaching journey at an international school in China.

“And that's where I found my love for kindergarten. Teaching kindergarteners has been the joy of my life; they love learning, they absorb everything.”

It was in the kindergarten classrooms that Jyoti truly realized the transformative power of picture books, which became a powerful tool in her teaching. But it wasn’t until she moved to the United States, starting a new phase in her career and life as a mother, that she became increasingly aware of a lack of diversity in children’s literature.

“As a teacher, picture books were a huge part of my life with my students. Then, as a mom, picture books became another huge part of my life in a different way. I started looking at them a little differently because of what I could find and what I could not find for my students and my daughters,” she explains.

A Missing Piece

This realization grew into frustration when one of her daughters was involved in a school project about a historical figure from India. She was inspired to share this figure’s story with her students, feeling sure at the time she could find a book about her that was geared toward children.

“And I couldn't find one anywhere. How is it that no one has written a picture book about this historical figure in her childhood? My husband said that maybe I should write it.”

Her first response was to laugh off the suggestion: “I don't write picture books — I'm a teacher!”

But the literary fates, as would have it, had other plans. Soon after, Jyoti found herself couch-bound for six weeks with a broken leg. With her laptop and lingering thoughts of that elusive resource as her steadfast companions, she began researching the historical figure and was able to complete the first draft of her own non-fiction book… Which stayed dormant in her computer. 

“Every time I would start researching how to get a book published, I was very intimidated by the enormous amount of information out there. Plus, I had young kids and I was teaching, so I just shut my computer and just got on with my life.”

That draft would stay untouched for nearly 14 years, but the seeds of a storyteller had been planted.

From Teacher to Storyteller

Sometime in 2018, Jyoti couldn’t ignore the persistent gap in children’s literature any longer. After all these years, it was still a struggle to find picture books that reflected who she was and who her daughters were as Indian-Americans. She realized that she had the tools, creativity, and position to take action and “put this book out there”.

What followed was a whirlwind of research, networking, writing, writing, and more writing.

“I started taking classes, I joined an organization called the SCBWI [Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators], attended conferences, and tried to get a real sense of the industry,” she says. “And as I was writing these non-fiction stories, I think some creativity just sort of creeped up and I began to think of the kinds of stories that I wish my daughters had when they were little, and I wish I had as an international school student.”

The result was American Desi — an answer to her decades-long wish and search for a picture book that reflects who “I am as a person [and] came out of that question of ‘Where do I fit in? Where do I belong? Who am I in this world?’”

Brought strikingly to life through rhyme and vibrant illustrations, American Desi follows the inner musings of a young girl as she explores the contrasting cultural facets of being American and Indian:

“Pavadais in bright gold colors,
Jersey shirts and faded jeans.
Swapping, changing, feeling seen,
Which is the color of me?”

Jyoti adds: “Being an international student is such a gift, it’s such a gift, but I feel like we have this constant feeling of ‘Where do we belong?’ We feel a sense of affinity with our home countries, yet when we go back to our home countries, we can feel slightly disconnected from them, too, because of our experiences. So, we are kind of straddling these worlds all the time.

That sense of belonging — but also not belonging — has been a huge part of my life. So, I think American Desi came from that space and from feeling like I'm always traveling the world. I grew to embrace it pretty early on in life.”

A Writer’s Life

American Desi was just the beginning. In a stark contrast to her teenage years, writing was something she no longer resisted or struggled with. Next came My Paati's Saris, Desert Queen, Love Is Here With You: A Lullaby of Blessings, One Sweet Song, and Sister Day. This year, she is set to release not one but two new picture books: The Power of Your Name and Over in the Mangroves.

The Power of Your Name, which comes out in August, is an ABC book that celebrates the power of our names as a reflection of who we are and where we come from. 

“As a kindergarten teacher, it was really important to me that all my students — not just the ones who had names that were hard to pronounce — understood their names were a huge part of who they were, because their names were given to them with love and honor. I wanted everyone to feel like their names were honored by each other in the community,” Jyoti shares. 

The book’s inspiration came from her own, lifelong experience of having her name repeatedly mispronounced. With it, she hopes to emphasize that “your name is not something that’s strange or different, or that has to be adapted or assimilated because people don’t know how to pronounce it.”

Coming Full Circle

With a growing string of titles to her name, Jyoti has certainly come a long way since her days of resisting the task of writing and shying away from the publishing world. Now, she embraces both with passion and a sense of purpose.

To aspiring writers who wish to do the same, she encourages them to read — and plenty of it.

“Also, read in the genre that you're interested in writing. So, if you really love writing fantasy, then read a lot of fantasy books, if you love writing mystery, read a lot of mystery books — then you can see what's out there, and they'll give you inspiration, teach you something about the craft of writing. But you don’t read as a reader; you read as a writer: What’s the author doing that makes the story so interesting? How is the word-building? Who are the characters?” she explains. “Then, start writing. Connect with other people who are also writing and share your work with each other. Just get to it!”