Spotlight on Board Member Sangeeta Mehta

Who makes The Word go round? None of this would happen without a team that loves storytelling and one that is ready to fight! Get to know our team a little better in five questions, starting with Board Member Sangeeta Mehta:

1.What is your favorite word (and why)?

Kindness. I’ve always loved the phrase "practice random kindness and senseless acts of beauty," coined by Anne Herbert, and I think it’s wonderful (but not surprising) that the Choose Kind movement, inspired by R.J. Palacio’s 2012 novel Wonder, continues to thrive. The word “kindness” also figures into the song “FourFiveSeconds.” Rihanna, Kanye West, and Paul McCartney are right—kindness should never be taken for weakness!

2. Your favorite author is writing your biography. Who is it, and what is the title? 

Well, this isn’t exactly feasible, but I wish Charlotte Brontë could write my biography. It would be called “Soulful and Full of Heart,” a twist on one of my favorite lines in Jane Eyre: “Do you think, because I am poor, obscure, plain and little, I am soulless and heartless? You think wrong! - I have as much soul as you, - and full as much heart!” I hope that passion somehow figures into the official story of my life.

3. Where would most want to run into your doppelgänger, and what will she be doing when you see her?

In a bookstore, of course! We’d probably be flipping through poetry collections to get ideas for “Poem in Your Pocket” Day. Or maybe we’d be in the café with a cup of tea. And we’d definitely be purchasing books to support independent bookstores, also known as our home away from home. 

4. Electronic or paper books? If paper, to dog-ear or not?

Paper books. I do own an e-reader, which I find especially helpful when I travel, but there’s something so calming about paper books. I could never deface a book by dog-earing it. For some reason, though, I do make annotations in the margins of books (stars, question marks, exclamation points).

5. What is the book on your nightstand right now?

I just bought a copy of The Perfect Nanny by Moroccan-French writer Leila Slimani. It’s a little disturbing to know that it’s based on real-life events (that actually took place in my neighborhood), but I can’t wait to dig in and find out why it’s being praised by nearly every media outlet I follow. And because the English edition isn’t the first edition (the novel was originally published in France in 2016), it’s available in paperback!

Find out even more about Sangeeta on our Our Team page!