House of Hibiscus
BOOK LAUNCH
adaiyalam
/a-da-ya-lam/
அடையளம்
"What if the things you were taught to be ashamed of was actually your power?"
adaiyalam (Tamil for “identity” or “marker”) is not just a book—it’s a reckoning with the stories we’ve inherited and the truths we were never told.
In a world shaped by colonization, caste, capitalism, and silence, this book walks through the layered terrains of memory, grief, gender, healing, and love. It unpacks the everyday myths we mistake as normal—beauty standards, parenting rules, therapy frameworks, and ideas of success—through a deeply personal and political lens. With storytelling rooted in Tamil culture and an unwavering commitment to justice. adaiyalam weaves together lived experience, ancestral wisdom, and a call to decolonize the way we live, love, and heal.
About the Author
Aksheyaa Akilan is a dyslexic writer, mental health professional, and social entrepreneur whose work is shaped as much by ancestral memory as it is by global advocacy. At 27, she leads House of Hibiscus, a collective of mental health and rights-based organizations working across India to build spaces of care, dignity, and decolonial resistance.
Hailing from a small village in Dharmapuri, Aksheyaa carries within her the stories of those who came before—women who remembered, mothers who resisted, and communities that healed outside textbooks. She reimagines mental health through a lens that honours lived experience, cultural wisdom, and structural justice.
Her work has been recognized by platforms like TEDx, the United Nations, and the World Health Organization—but it is in handwritten proverbs, village games, and shared laughter that she finds her truest authority.
Launch of Adaiyalam
Adaiyalam will officially launch on 5th July 2025 at Anna Centenary Library during the Chennai's Mental Health Fest (Adaiyalam).
This work of non-fiction—centered on identity, culture, healing, and decolonial memory—will be available in both print and digital formats. Readers in India and abroad can access the book through multiple platforms.
Available on:
– Notion Press
-- Amazon (India and international shipping)
– Kindle (e-book edition)
– The official House of Hibiscus website
Whether you’re reading it in solitude or sharing it in community, this book offers an invitation to remember, reclaim, and reimagine.
Receive Your Signed Copy at Adaiyalam Fest 2025
Join us in person at Adaiyalam Fest 2025 - Chennai’s first mental health festival hosted by the House of Hibiscus.
As part of the festival experience, attendees will have the opportunity to meet the author and receive a personally signed copy of the book. The event brings together workshops, dialogue spaces, and storytelling sessions that echo the themes of the book.
This is more than a launch. It’s a gathering of voices committed to healing, culture, and collective care.