Prasanta Verma (she/her) is a freelance writer and poet. She was born under an Asian sun, raised in the Appalachian foothills, and currently resides in the upper Midwest. She holds an MBA and an MPH, and is a regular contributor to The Contemplative Writer and The Mudroom. She writes about identity, belonging, and culture, and her work has been published in Propel Women, (in)courage, Relief Journal, Barren Magazine, and more. You can connect with her on Twitter @VermaPrasanta, Instagram @prasantaverma, and her website prasantaverma.com.
Her HandsHer story is the story of many first-generation Asian mothers. It is neither one of fame nor of accolade, but is one of surviving, assimilating — especially in small towns — living among few Asians. She is one of the mothers who worked out of the spotlight, scraping together meals, saving coins, sacrificing for her loved ones. A mother who lived in one culture with her children, but harbored a sense of homesickness for her own home, her own native comfort food, her relatives, the sounds and sights of her village streets, and the trees and plants of her hometown.
