WRITTEN BY Morris Jones

GRAPHIC BY Morris Jones

“I’m going to write a book” is not a sentence that many people will say in their lives and genuinely go through with. However, for Maitreyee Potdar and Melody Jiang, writing and illustrating a book wasn’t something to give up on. Memory Bridge” is a realistic fiction book, written by Maitreyee Potdar, a junior and illustrated by Melody Jiang, a junior as well. The Las Lomas duo recently finished their book which narrates and illustrates the life journeys of a diverse range of people.  Potdar and Jiang first got the idea of writing a book when volunteering at a nursing home. Their most notable exposure to the seniors’ stories was the story and synergy of a married couple: “They had very different backgrounds and you would’ve never thought they would’ve met … you could tell they were still in love,” said Potdar and Jiang. The main purpose of the book was to teach life lessons, which was why the focal point of all of the stories was the beginning of a person’s life and the end, serving as a sort of comforting point for the seniors. Potdar’s vision was to write a book that held sentimental value and would evoke nostalgic memories for anyone who reads it. 

Podtar said that her first-ever interview with a senior citizen consisted of plenty of eye contact and “very messy notes that I had to type out on a computer which took a really long time.” The actual writing process consisted of a few drafts, edited by Podtar and Jiang exclusively. When each story was initially written, Potdar said they were “too long and had to be consolidated”, perhaps to fit into 24 pages.

Jiang, the illustrator, chose to paint watercolors to bring out as much childlike nostalgia as possible. She chose a “very vibrant color palette” in order to effectively draw out the playfulness every graphic had for each page. Jiang is very experienced in making watercolor paintings, having started painting watercolors in elementary school. Each painting took about an hour and a half to complete, with 24 full-page watercolor paintings. Her level of expertise was demonstrated thoroughly throughout the entire book as well, with each painting being incredibly neat and creative.
The book comes out on the Amazon E-book store very soon. In addition, Podtar and Jiang wanted to hand gift a copy of the book back to each of the people they interviewed. Memory Bridge takes you on a journey through intertwined stories that celebrate the power of memories, connections and love. Discover the tales of individuals whose lives weave together to illustrate the resilience of the human spirit. Full of  shared experiences and steadfastness, everyone should give Memory Bridge a read.