Tyler Mahadeo publishes book 25 years after writing it

After facing many challenges with foreign and local publishers, 74-year-old Tyler Mahadeo became a published author in 2019 when a complete stranger walked her through the process. Her book, When the Fog Lifts, was written in 1994 and inspired by a recurring dream that she had in the early 1990s.

Mahadeo, of Sangre Grande, said when many of the foreign publishers told her they weren’t willing to take that risk, "I was forced to put away my manuscript and I decided that that was the first and last book I would write. Then came a complete stranger who had recently published a book. Reia Ali literally took me by the hand and walked the extra mile with me to get my book publishing. She also encouraged me to write the second book and has played a pivotal role in helping with the marketing of them.”

She told WMN Ali was helped by author Roger Ali-Bocus who transformed the manuscript into a book and designed the cover. Mahadeo believes these people entered her life on account of her strong belief in the Law of Attraction.

In the dream that inspired When the Fog Lifts, "I was a male person, addressing large crowds of people in the open air. My speeches were motivational, fluent and articulate and I expressed myself clearly and effectively. In real life, I have a problem ad-libbing. One morning, with the dream still fresh in my mind, I felt a compulsion to prove to myself whether the skill I displayed in my dream also existed in real life. The dream had sown a seed and When the Fog Lifts took birth.”

Mahadeo said the book revolves around a simple misunderstanding that is compounded by several others which cause problems for the main characters. The main male character becomes blind, not because of the severe beating he has endured at the hands of his abductors, but because of the mental and emotional torment he suffers because of the betrayal he mistakenly feels.

"The main female character is also deeply affected by these misunderstandings. She is wasting away and has become thin and frail. She exists as a zombie because she too feels she has been betrayed. They are both caught up in a mental and emotional fog which affects them physically as well. And then there's the actual fog brought about by weather conditions, in which she finds herself experiencing a complexity of emotions that are just as bewildering as the fog or even more so.”

Mahadeo told WMN her writing process does not follow a "normal" pattern, as she just thinks about the topic and the ideas just flow on their own.

"I firmly believe that my ideas flow from the collective consciousness to which we all have access, if we do desire. Writing, for me, is actually a means of releasing pent up emotions. It's a means of expressing thoughts which I cannot do orally.”

Writing has been her pastime since she was a teacher Guaico Government Primary School, but she used many opportunities at the school to nurture it into something more.

“Being a teacher I was required to conduct assembly at times and speak on given topics. Even though I would be adequately prepared with the relevant information on the topics, while speaking, my thoughts would bombard me faster than I could assemble them, so my speeches wouldn’t be seamless and coherent. They always ended up disjointed.”

She said she decided to put her thoughts on paper and was pleasantly surprised by the results.

“I started writing nursery rhymes, poems and calypsos for my class and later on, I was asked to write the history of my school. I also wrote wedding speeches and eulogies for others to deliver. They were all well received.”

Mahadeo became a teacher at 18 and first started teaching at the North Oropouche Government Primary School before going to the Cumuto Government Primary and then to the Manzanilla Government Primary.

She was then transferred to the Guaico Government Primary School where she taught until her retirement in 2007.

“I spent most of my time teaching in the infant department. Before kindergarteners came on the stream, the children came without any previous knowledge. They were like blank slates. I loved the fact that I was able to see them progress from one point to the next knowing I was mostly responsible for their growth.”

After the publication of her first book, Mahadeo said the feedback she’s got from readers have been extremely encouraging.

“Most of them have said that they enjoyed the book immensely. Some memorable comments, though, would be two people saying that it will make a great movie. Another said, ‘I absolutely loved the way you described the scenery, I fell in love with the characters. I cried through the entire book. It ended too quickly and I stayed awake all night because I could not put it down.’”

She added that she had a reader tell her that she cried throughout the book and told her she was able to around the emotions that the characters felt through her while reading.

Mahadeo has no formal training in writing and didn't attend university. She said she had no interest in writing anything aside from the essays required by universities explaining why she should be accepted as a student.

“My passion was gathering knowledge and passing it on to others. So I became a teacher. I had no formal training in book-writing whatsoever.”

When she isn’t writing, Mahadeo said she can be found reading, gardening and listening to old English and Indian love songs.

“I loved listening to the English love songs played on a radio programme called Open House that was hosted by the late David Elcock Since I was a teenager. My love for Indian songs blossomed at the same time while watching Indian movies.”

She said she became an ardent reader when she was introduced to School Girls Romance by Mills and Boon by a classmate.

“My hobbies have kept me grounded and humble and in touch with who I really am.”

She said while reading, she has been able to gather a wealth of information while gardening she is not afraid to get her hands dirty.

“I marvel at the fact that a tiny seed contains such an immense amount of potential. I have been successful in growing a variety of vegetables and even apples, grapes, dates and pear plants. Unfortunately the apple trees never bore any fruits and the pear trees died after reaching two feet high.”

Mahadeo said listening to music takes her through a range of emotions and reminds her that she is still human.

“My hobbies are all interconnected. The fruits of the garden nourish the body. Reading nourishes the mind while music nourishes the soul.”

She added, “Curiosity was one of the main factors that influenced my love of reading. I always wanted to know about the laws that govern our universe among other things. Flowers give me great pleasure and music keep me connected to my childhood days when I sat with my sister in a hammock and sang to my heart's content.”

Her second book is still in the works, but she has titled it The Ravine that Came Alive at Night. She said that book is inspired by a true story while an infant and it features her passionate love for nature.

When the Fog Lifts is available at at the Port of Spain and San Fernando branches of Keith Khan Bookstore and at RIK bookstores nationwide.