PVLF 2026

Interview with Binaaz Mistry, Author of “Mind It”

Binaaz’s MIND IT blends poetry, prose, and art to explore mental health with honesty and empathy—turning invisible emotions into a shared journey of healing.
on Oct 17, 2025

Frontlist: MIND IT weaves poetry, narrative, and visual art into one flowing story. How did you arrive at this hybrid form, and what does it allow you to communicate about mental health that traditional prose or standalone poems might not?

Binaaz: I chose this hybrid form because mental health is not a single-layered experience; it is felt, thought, and seen all at once.

Hence weaving poetry with a narrative thread, allowed me to mirror the ebb and flow of inner struggles and recovery. The accompanying artwork adds a dimension of shape and color to emotions, that words sometimes fall short of holding.

Frontlist: The title itself—MIND IT—feels both playful and cautionary. How do you see it encapsulating the tension between awareness, reflection, and the emotional landscapes you explore in your work?

Binaaz: On one hand, the words “Mind it” are a gentle nudge; almost playful…reminding us to pay attention to our thoughts and emotions. On the other, it carries a cautionary weight, urging us not to dismiss what the mind signals.

The title reflects that balance, and serves as a reminder that our inner landscapes deserve both awareness and care.

Frontlist: Each poem can stand alone, yet together they create a continuous journey. Was this duality intentional, and how do you hope it mirrors the experience of managing mental health in real life—fragmented yet connected?

Binaaz: Yes, the duality was very intentional. Mental health rarely unfolds in a straight line; it feels more like fragments that eventually piece together into a journey.

Each poem represents a moment or emotion that can be understood on its own. But when read in sequence, hopefully my readers recognize their own experiences in this rhythm, realising thus that even isolated feelings belong to a larger, meaningful story.

Frontlist: Mental wellness is often an invisible struggle. How does MIND IT attempt to make the unseen visible, and what role do storytelling and empathy play in reducing stigma?

Binaaz: Mind It seeks to give shape and voice to what often remains hidden. Through poetry; I have tried to capture the raw, fleeting emotions that don’t always find space in everyday conversations.

By presenting vulnerability as part of a shared human experience rather than a private weakness, the book encourages reflection without judgment. The message through this book is that; what is unseen is not unreal, and acknowledging struggle without fear of stigma, is the first step toward healing.

Frontlist: Your book invites readers to reflect on self and society through imagination and poetic rhythm. How do you think artistic forms like poetry can unlock emotional resonance in ways clinical or analytical texts cannot?

Binaaz: Mental health is deeply human, layered with nuance and vulnerability that statistics alone cannot capture. Through poetic rhythm and imagery, emotions are experienced in a way that it creates resonance of empathy rather than distance.

This emotional connection can open doors to awareness and reflection in ways that data or definitions often cannot.

Frontlist: World Mental Health Day emphasizes awareness and action. If readers take away only one emotional or intellectual insight from MIND IT, what do you hope it will be?

Binaaz: I hope readers come away with the realization that mental health deserves the same openness and care as physical health.

If Mind It can nudge even one person to replace silence with dialogue, judgment with empathy, or hesitation with self-compassion, then its purpose is fulfilled.

Frontlist: As a physician, mother, runner, and poet, you balance many roles that each come with stress and responsibility. How have these experiences shaped your sensitivity to mental wellness, and how do they surface in the themes of your book?

Binaaz: Each role has deepened my awareness of mental wellness in different ways…

As a physician, I’ve witnessed how often emotional struggles remain hidden, overshadowed by physical symptoms.

As a mother, I’ve understood the silent weight of expectations and the tenderness of care.

Running has taught me resilience…that moving through discomfort can bring clarity and healing.

And poetry has given me the language to transform these layered experiences into something shareable and resonant.

Frontlist: The book celebrates imagination, curiosity, and observation. How does your own curiosity—about people, nature, and human emotions—drive your creative process and inform the perspectives shared in MIND IT?

Binaaz: Curiosity has always been the lens through which I experience the world. As a physician, I’m drawn to the quiet stories behind symptoms, as a traveler and observer of nature; I notice how landscapes mirror emotional states and as a poet, I let these impressions transform into rhythm and imagery.

This habit of looking closely at people’s expressions, unspoken pauses, or even the way light falls at a certain hour…fuels my creative process.

Whereas curiosity has allowed me to frame mental wellness not as a distant issue, but as part of our everyday lives, I have followed the threads of my observations via this book to invite readers to pause, wonder, and perhaps see themselves and others with more compassion.