Although my abuse happened here in the United States, I was born in India and raised in a South Asian household. I grew up in a culture where silence around certain topics — especially child sexual abuse — was seen as normal, even necessary. Talking about our bodies, setting boundaries, or saying “no” to an adult just wasn’t something we were taught.
So when I was abused as a child, I stayed quiet. Not because I didn’t want to speak, but because I didn’t know I could. The fear of not being believed, of bringing shame to my family, of breaking that cultural silence — it kept me quiet for over 30 years.
That’s why when I wrote Bad Secrets, I knew that it couldn’t just be a book — it had to be a tool for change. I wanted every dollar it earned to go toward protecting children and breaking that same silence that once trapped me.
I chose to support Arpan, a nonprofit in India, because I wanted to give back to the communities that reflect where I come from. Arpan is doing exactly what I wish had been done for me: educating children about body safety, training adults to listen and respond, and providing trauma-informed healing for survivors.
Arpan is leading the way in South Asia by teaching kids that their bodies belong to them, that unsafe touch is never their fault, and that speaking up is brave — not shameful.
Supporting Arpan through Alpa’s Voice is how I turn my story into someone else’s safety. It’s how I reconnect with my roots not through silence, but through truth, healing, and action.