1. What inspired you to write Paris Forever?
Anushka: Paris Forever was born from a deeply personal space. I’ve always been fascinated by how memories, especially painful ones, become woven into our identities. As a psychologist, I witness the quiet strength it takes for people to confront their past and allow love back into their lives. I wanted to tell a story that didn’t just romanticize healing, but honoured the real, raw, non-linear process of it. Paris, with its poetic charm and bittersweet air, felt like the perfect canvas for that emotional journey.
2. How much of Advika’s journey reflects your own experiences or observations as a psychologist?
Anushka: Advika’s journey is a blend of lived experience, empathetic observation, and professional insight. While she’s not autobiographical, many of her emotional patterns, confusion, resistance, longing, are things I’ve encountered in therapy rooms and within myself. Her struggle with emotional suppression, self-worth, and learning to trust again mirrors what so many of us go through. Writing her story was cathartic in ways I didn’t expect, it felt like giving voice to the unspoken grief and hope of countless souls.
3. What message do you hope readers take away from the story?
Anushka: That healing is not a destination, it’s a quiet decision you make every day to show up for yourself. That love, when rooted in truth and tenderness, can hold space for the most wounded parts of us. And most importantly, that it’s okay to begin again. Even when it feels like too much time has passed. Even when you’ve lost yourself. There is always a way back; to life, to love, to you.
4. Why did you choose Paris as the emotional anchor of the novel?
Anushka: Paris has always felt like a city suspended in memory, timeless, romantic, but also deeply melancholic. It holds stories in its cobbled streets, like it’s seen too much beauty and too much pain to separate the two. I wanted a place that could reflect Advika’s inner world, beautiful but burdened, alive but aching.
But more than that, Paris is the world capital of romance. It’s where people go to fall in love, with others, with life, and sometimes, with themselves. I wanted the city to act as a quiet witness to Advika’s healing, to be both her escape and her return. Paris, to me, wasn’t just a backdrop, it was a living, breathing emotional metaphor.
5. How do you balance psychological depth with storytelling in your books?
Anushka: For me, the two go hand in hand. Psychology is the soul of my storytelling. But I never want it to feel clinical or heavy-handed. I let the characters lead, allowing their thoughts, wounds, and actions to naturally reveal deeper truths. I write emotionally before I write analytically. Once the heart of the story is laid out, I refine it with psychological insight to ensure it feels real, grounded, and nuanced.
6. What role do you think therapy should play in love stories?
Anushka: A crucial one. Love stories often focus on chemistry and conflict but skip over emotional accountability. Therapy brings that in, it opens space for communication, self-reflection, and growth. It doesn’t mean love has to be perfect; it just means it becomes more conscious. I believe therapy can transform a love story from being reactive to redemptive.
7. You’ve written multiple books. How is Paris Forever different from your previous works?
Anushka: Paris Forever is the most intimate and emotionally layered book I’ve written so far. My previous books centered around empowerment and romance, but this one dives deeper into emotional trauma, unspoken grief, and the silent wars people fight within. It’s softer, slower, and more introspective. There’s a maturity in the way it holds pain and love in the same breath, and that feels different, even for me as a writer.
8. Do you believe love can truly help heal emotional wounds?
Anushka: Yes, but not in the way movies often show it. Love doesn’t “fix” you. But when it’s steady, honest, and patient, it creates a safe container for healing. It reminds you of your worth when you’ve forgotten. It shows you what’s possible when you’ve stopped believing. Healing ultimately is an inside job, but love can be the light you walk towards when everything else feels dark.
9. What advice would you give to young readers who relate to Advika’s struggles?
Anushka: Please know that you’re not broken, even if you feel that way. The pain you carry is valid, but so is your right to feel joy, love, and freedom again. Healing is messy, and it often feels like you’re going backwards before you move forward. That’s okay. Keep choosing yourself. Keep taking baby steps. And never be afraid to ask for help, you are not alone, even when your mind tells you otherwise.
10. Are you on social media? How can readers connect with you?
Anushka: Yes, absolutely! You can find me on Instagram at @psychologistanushka, where I share my writing, reflections, and mental health content. I also share updates and connect with readers through my website: www.healwithanushka.in. I genuinely love hearing from readers, it’s heartwarming to witness how stories can create real emotional impact.
11. Where can readers buy your book?
Anushka: Paris Forever is available on Amazon, Flipkart, and select independent bookstores. Both paperback and Kindle versions are available. For therapy sessions, readers can connect with me through the website www.healwithanushka.in. And if you enjoy the book, tagging me on Instagram means the world, your words keep me writing.
About the author
Anushka Agrawal is a psychologist, storyteller, and the heart behind Heal with Anushka, an online platform offering empathetic and accessible therapy for those on a journey of emotional healing. Through her words, she transforms pain, love, and longing into language that soothes and empowers. Her work seamlessly blends psychological insight with emotional depth, creating a space where vulnerability becomes a strength.
A feminist and romantic at heart, Anushka draws inspiration from the quiet power of women’s resilience and believes in storytelling as a form of both resistance and repair. Her writing, raw, reflective, and deeply human, acts as both mirror and balm, helping readers reconnect with their truth and find beauty in their brokenness.
She is the author of Bad Bitch Philosophy, My Summer Romance, and Love Is Home, each book capturing a unique facet of the emotional landscapes she so gently navigates.
Website: www.healwithanushka.in
