First Time Malaysian Writer & Poet, Audrey Ong Self Publishes Whispers Of The Soul Abroad

What began as musings and a personal collection of her thoughts and emotions, is now a prose of poetry in the form of a self-published book, Whispers of The Soul.

41 year old, Audrey Ong (pic below) is no stranger to the path less trodden, with her venture into the world of weddings, photography and events in the form of Armadale weddings back in 2004 as well as a slew of successful multi-brand jewellery stores, Bejeweled back in 2005.

“This was almost 15 years ago. I had graduated with a Masters in Business Systems but the innate interest in fashion and artistry got the better of me, and I chose the path of an entrepreneur compared to the set hours of a management consultant,” mused Audrey.

Priorities in life reshuffled when Audrey was pregnant with her first child. She decided to exit the business world for good to bring him up, which was almost 15 years ago.

“Being a mother has changed my priorities. I used to be a go-getter, often clocking in long hours and I am a perfectionist at heart. Motherhood is the opposite of all that I was and to just go with the flow. It teaches me to be more forgiving, patient and compassionate.

“Whispers of The Soul is a reflection of my journey. It is made up of my thoughts, memories, dreams, faith, echoes of my past and truths in my life.

Whispers of The Soul is divided into four chapters ~ love, dawn, dusk and light, with every layer beautifully illustrated depicting the theme. Each chapter is aimed at bringing readers on a different journey with heartfelt connections to the soul.

“Poetry is fluid and can be made up of pieces that can be read many times over with no particular order. Some pieces will resonate and sing to you more than others at different seasons in your life,” she further explained.

Speaking further of her experience in writing a book and then self-publishing, Audrey shared that it was not an easy task. She had began writing down her thoughts and poetry back in 2016, and slowly refined the pieces. She then began searching for local publishing companies but found choices to be limited.

“I turned to the world wide web, and chanced upon First Edition Publishing, as they had very good reviews. I submitted my idea and proposal and was accepted, and therefore began working hand in hand with them to produce the book.

“I also roped in a talented artist, Zoe Wu, who produced beautiful illustrations accompanying my poetry’.

Putting herself out there as a first time writer and poet couldn’t have been more daunting as Audrey also ambitioned to share her paintings with her audience.

“Fear has always got the better of me. So, once I had conquered the fear of sharing my writings with people, the second challenge would be to prove to myself I could faintly draw and do art. I held fear by the hand, challenged it and worked beyond my fear boundaries. I couldn’t be happier in the end”.

“The four images depicting love, dawn,dusk and light were drawn during an art jamming session with very little professional guidance and edits made. So, please be forgiving, if it doesn’t live up to the artist standard,” said Audrey.

Physical copies of the book, Whispers of The Soul can be found at Cziplee Bangsar. You may also order it from Amazon, Barnes and Nobles, Book Depository, Kubo and other major world wide online stores. Whispers Of The Soul retails at RM70 (USD14.95