Marinella Proença hopes to instill a love for animals in young readers with her new book, ‘Trails by the Farm’
CHRISTINE MACHADO | NT KURIOCITY
Sometimes, a story is born from a single experience in a writer’s life. Other times, it takes multiple small moments woven together to inspire a narrative. For Marinella Proença, it was the latter.
A resident of Calangute, Proença has spent a considerable amount of time in recent years near her husband’s farm. Once home to rescued cattle, chickens, roosters, geese, dogs, and more, the space has now been converted into an animal care shelter. “One day, I told my husband I wanted to visit the farm early in the morning and observe everything that happens there. So, before sunrise, we began going to the farm, listening to the sounds of the animals as they woke up, fed, and started their day,” she shares.
And so wanting to instill a love for animals in children, Proença decided to write a book where animals play a central role. “We kept hearing stories about dogs being abandoned and mistreated. I wanted to change that mindset and teach children to respect and care for animals,” she says.
Her book, ‘Trails by the Farm’, features talking animals—a concept she isn’t entirely sure how she came up with but believes may have been inspired by her time in Saudi Arabia. “When my daughter was little, she would come home from school and watch Sesame Street. I always sat with her during that time, and perhaps that show influenced me,” she reflects.
Proença’s confidence as a writer was also buoyed by the success of her first book, a collection of poems published in 2008. In fact, she admits she was a late entrant to the world of writing. “For a long time, I would tell my husband that there were poetry lines in my head. One day, he told me that if that was the case, I should put it on paper. So, I started writing in a frenzy. No one knew about it until the poems were ready. When my husband read them, he suggested we publish them,” she recalls. That book, which explores life in Goa during the 1960s and ‘70s, was launched in Vancouver, Toronto, and London within the Goan community. It was also catalogued in the Library of Congress in Washington, DC, and in 11 U.S. universities, including Yale. In Goa, it is available at the central library. Proença began working on ‘Trails by the Farm’ soon after her poetry book was published. Though she completed it in early 2010, she put it on hold as family responsibilities took priority. Finally, in December last year, she published it with Notion Press.
The book is currently available on Amazon and was also recently showcased at the New Delhi World Book Fair. Proença hopes it will find readers in Goa as well. And while writing remains close to her heart, she is also currently studying music production, with no plans to slow down anytime soon.
