In 2018, I wrote and self-published my memoir in the Serbian language (Danas nam je divan dan). Three years later, I am happy to announce its English version: The Journey to Bring Back Play. This book isn't different from the original (the narrative and characters remained the same), but it also isn't a pure transcription. It complements some parts with more details.
My book holds pieces of my life story, and its main topic is CHANGE; change that comes from the outer world and often leaves us without direction and control, and also the change that rises from within and pushes us to stretch and grow. My story begins in the early 80s and the years of my carefree childhood. It evolves through the 90s and my youth, marked by the devastation of the country I was born in (Yugoslavia), complete societal shift, and slow deterioration of my sense of self (and belonging). In the final chapters I reflect on years when I was thrown to take on different paths, open new doors, and learn stuff I necessarily wouldn't choose to. While writing my book, I finally realized how I came out of this journey on the completely opposite side of the globe (Canada), and as a new person.
Shannon Perkins Carr - Author and Self-Publisher - said about this book:
"This book was written about the past, but it is hauntingly relevant to the issues facing us today. Through her unadorned and powerful writing, Nataša communicates her own struggles, which are also the struggles of all of us. After all, we are all human, and we have all suffered loss and trauma in some form. We are all, whether we know it or not, searching for the spirit of play in ourselves and our lives."
