Windham author looking to publish her first book

By Ed Pierce

A love for writing has led Mikha Brown of Windham to complete her first book and it will soon be available to the public.

Mikha Brown of Windham has written a book
about her life called 'Looking Through My 
Eyes' and is hoping to have it published soon. 
SUBMITTED PHOTO  

Brown, a cashier, service desk, bagger, and self-checkout employee at North Windham Hannaford, is a 2012 Windham High School graduate and has lived in town her entire life.

Her book “Looking Through My Eyes” is all about her life.

“I started this book about six or seven years ago,” Brown said. “I knew I wanted to write my story, but I knew I had to get information from my family and friends and get their interviews and points of view on me.”

She grew up with what she says is a learning difference.

“I don’t like saying disability because it to me is an offensive word and everyone is special and different in their own way, and not many people knew my story and so I decided to share it,” Brown said.

Of all the challenges she experienced in writing her book, the most difficult to overcome was highly personal.

“I would say digging deep into my thoughts and remembering the details that I can recall was tough,” Brown said. “It has been hard to overcome some obstacles but as I continued to write, I knew that this story was going to be an eye-opener for others. My goal is to make sure that everyone feels special and unique in their own way and that their voices can be heard and not be quiet. What I mean is some people don’t like explaining their stories.”

Writing has been an activity that Brown has always enjoyed.

“I have always loved writing, during my freshman year of high school my English teacher Mr. Lawson, who unfortunately passed away in 2016, and my sophomore and senior year of high school English teacher Mr. Regan, helped me learn how to become a creative writer,” she said.

Her grandmother Tutu, which is Hawaiian for grandmother, also inspired Brown to write.

“I lost her in 2019,” she said. “She taught me how to write poems and from learning how to write them, it made me more creative, and I thought about writing a book.”

The result was “Looking Through My Eyes” which Brown is thinking of self-publishing.

“I didn’t use a basic outline. I just was using Microsoft Word, and I just was writing and a lot of the stuff from my past and present was coming to me, and I just wanted to write,” she said. “I like to write whenever something comes to my head, or from the heart, and it will just like speak to me like as if I am in a dream and that I am ready to share it.”

Having a supportive family and great friends has been helpful to Brown too.

“My family and friends have supported me in everything I do; whether I am a writer or a cashier, they are proud of me no matter what,” she said. “They always told me to reach for the stars and the sky, and I just do that. I didn’t use an agent. I had my uncle Benny be my proofreader and he helped fix it up.”

When “Looking Through My Eyes” is eventually published, Brown already has plans for how to use the proceeds from the book.

“When I go to sell my book, my goal is to donate to breast cancer and leukemia research because I’ve lost a lot of people to breast cancer and to leukemia,” she said. “I also would like to donate to the Boston’s Children’s Hospital who helped shaped me into the young lady I am today.” <