Author Damini Grover is a counselling psychologist, life coach, and founder of I’M Powered Centre for Counselling & Well-Being in Delhi, India. With a decade of experience in mental and emotional health, she uses an eclectic therapeutic approach to empower clients globally. Damini has received prestigious awards, including the Spiritual Leader Award (2020) and the BEST MENTAL HEALTH SOLUTIONS PROVIDER, GLOBAL HEALTH PHARMA 2026, ET PSYCHOLOGIST OF THE YEAR 2025. H[DG1] er articles have appeared in leading publications, such as The Elephant Journal, The Statesman, The Guardian, and Deccan Chronicle, reflecting her passion for personal growth and empowerment.

Questionnaire:

The Literatrue Today: As a counselling psychologist and life coach with over a decade of experience, what inspired you to write, “Time To Come Home: Sowing The Seeds Of Self-Love For Lasting Happiness” at this stage of your journey?

Damini Grover: What inspired me to write Time To Come Home was the growing realization that so many people struggle with their relationship with themselves. The more I continued working closely with individuals over the years, the more I saw how deeply issues of self-worth, self-doubt, self-neglect, and emotional disconnection impact every area of life, relationships, careers, decisions, mental health, and even one’s ability to experience joy. I also realized that self-love is one of the most misunderstood concepts today. It has almost become a buzzword on social media, reduced to surface-level ideas of pampering oneself or simply “feeling confident.” But real self-love goes much deeper than that. It is about having a healthy sense of self-worth. It is about knowing that you are inherently worthy, valuable, and deserving of care, respect, and compassion and then learning to act from that space consistently. I felt there was a need to simplify and structure these ideas so people could better understand what self-love truly is, what lack of self-love looks like, how it quietly shows up in our daily lives, and what healing and reconnection with oneself actually involve.

In many ways, this book also felt like a natural continuation of my first self-help book, The Intentional Being, which explored intentional living, values, awareness, and conscious choices. Time To Come Home felt like the next step in that journey because before we create the life we truly want, we first need to understand who we are beneath all the conditioning, noise, expectations, and fear. I also consciously chose to make the book deeply relatable. I didn’t want it to feel like a rigid “how-to” manual. I wanted readers to feel like they were walking through a journey with me. That’s why the book blends psychological concepts with stories, reflections, personal experiences, and client-inspired narratives (while maintaining confidentiality and fictionalization where needed). Stories help people feel seen, understood, and emotionally connected to concepts in a way that pure instruction often cannot.

The Literatrue Today: The phrase “Time To Come Home” feels deeply emotional and symbolic. What does “coming home” to oneself truly mean to you?   

Damini Grover: To me, “coming home” to oneself means returning to who you truly are beneath layers of conditioning, expectations, fear, comparison, and societal noise. Somewhere along the way, many of us disconnect from ourselves while trying to fit in, survive, please others, meet expectations, or become who we think we “should” be.Coming home is about gently peeling away those layers and reconnecting with your own voice again.It is about becoming comfortable with yourself, your strengths, vulnerabilities, emotions, desires, imperfections, dreams, and even the parts of you that still need healing and growth. It is about learning to trust yourself again instead of constantly outsourcing your worth, identity, or happiness to the world around you.I think so many people spend years searching for validation, belonging, love, and acceptance externally without realizing that the deepest sense of safety and belonging begins within. That is what “coming home” represents to me building a relationship with yourself that feels safe, compassionate, honest, and authentic. And interestingly, when people truly begin to come home to themselves, they also begin to make healthier choices in every area of life, relationships, boundaries, work, emotional wellbeing, and the way they show up in the world.

The Literatrue Today: Your book beautifully blends psychology with compassion rather than sounding overly clinical or instructional. How did you strike that balance while writing?

Damini Grover:  I think that balance came quite naturally to me because that is also how I think, speak, and work with people in real life. I have personally always struggled with communication that feels overly clinical, jargon-heavy, or emotionally disconnected. While psychological concepts are important, I believe they become truly meaningful only when people can see themselves reflected in them. So, while writing, my focus was never just on explaining concepts intellectually. I wanted readers to feel emotionally understood as well. In many ways, writing this book felt very similar to the work I do as a psychologist and coach every day, helping people simplify the complexities of their emotions, thoughts, patterns, and experiences in a way that feels accessible and human.

I think stories, examples, reflections, and personal experiences help bridge that gap beautifully. They make abstract psychological ideas feel real and relatable. That’s why I consciously chose to weave concepts into narratives rather than making the book feel instructional or prescriptive. Of course, structured “how-to” approaches work very well for many readers, but I knew that was not the kind of book I wanted to write. I wanted readers to feel like they were part of a conversation, a journey, or even sitting with a compassionate guide who understands the emotional messiness of being human. For me, psychology without compassion can feel cold, and compassion without insight can feel incomplete. I wanted the book to hold both.

The Literatrue Today: In today’s fast-paced world, many people struggle with emotional exhaustion and self-neglect. Why do you think self-love has become more necessary now than ever before?

Damini Grover:  I think the answer is somewhere there in the question itself. We are living in times where people are emotionally exhausted, chronically stressed, overstimulated, and deeply disconnected from themselves. Many individuals are constantly functioning in survival mode trying to keep up with expectations, responsibilities, comparisons, pressures, and the endless noise of the world around them. In the middle of all this, people slowly lose touch with who they are, what they truly feel, what they need, what kind of life they actually want to lead, and even what genuinely makes them happy. They are living lives that, many times, even they do not fully understand. That is why self-love and self-connection have become more important than ever before. Everything ultimately begins and ends with the relationship you have with yourself. The way you think about yourself influences your choices, relationships, boundaries, emotional health, career decisions, and the life you create over time. When that relationship is rooted in criticism, neglect, shame, comparison, or emotional abandonment, it impacts every other area of life as well.

I also think that modern life often encourages performance over presence. People are constantly trying to prove themselves, optimize themselves, or become more acceptable to the world while quietly feeling disconnected, anxious, lonely, or emotionally depleted inside. Self-love, therefore, is not just about feeling good about yourself. It is about reconnecting with yourself. It is about learning to listen to yourself again, care for your emotional wellbeing, trust your inner voice, and build a life that feels aligned rather than merely externally successful. And honestly, I think human consciousness also needs to evolve with the times we are living in. The world around us is changing rapidly, but emotional awareness, self-understanding, and inner stability often lag behind. Books and conversations around self-love are important because they invite people to pause, reflect, and rebuild that connection with themselves again.

The Literatrue Today: You mention that self-love is not about ego but about rebuilding self-trust and self-respect. Why do you think these concepts are often misunderstood in society?

Damini Grover: I think these concepts are often misunderstood because many of us grow up in environments and societies where we are constantly taught that our role is to prioritize others, adjust, sacrifice, keep people happy, and seek acceptance externally. So naturally, the moment someone starts thinking about themselves, setting boundaries, making different choices, or honoring their own needs, they are quickly labeled as “selfish,” “difficult,” or “too self-centered.” At the same time, we also witness the other extreme people who operate only from self-interest, vanity, superiority, or complete disregard for others. So somewhere, society starts confusing self-love with arrogance, selfishness, ego, or narcissism. But true self-love has nothing to do with operating from extremes.

Real self-love is about being rooted in a stable and healthy relationship with yourself. It is about treating yourself with dignity, kindness, honesty, compassion, and respect while also extending the same to the people around you. It is about knowing that your needs, emotions, voice, and wellbeing matter too. In fact, ego and self-love are very different things. Ego is often a defense mechanism. Many times, people who appear excessively arrogant, controlling, or superior are actually deeply insecure underneath. Ego is usually trying to protect a fragile sense of self.

Self-love, on the other hand, is quieter and more grounded. It is about self-trust. It is about feeling secure enough within yourself that you no longer need to constantly prove your worth, seek validation, dominate others, or abandon yourself to be accepted.

I think we need more nuanced conversations around this because self-love is not about becoming self-obsessed. It is about becoming emotionally healthy enough to build healthier relationships—both with yourself and with others.

The Literatrue Today: Many readers may turn to this book during difficult emotional phases in life. What kind of comfort or transformation do you hope they experience after reading it?

Damini Grover:  I hope readers experience this book as a companion , almost like a gentle friend who sees them, understands them, and sits beside them without judgment. I wanted the book to create a sense of emotional safety where people feel understood in their struggles rather than feeling “fixed” or instructed. At the same time, I also hope the book gently nudges people to pause and reflect on different aspects of their life, patterns, emotions, relationships, and the way they relate to themselves. Real transformation does not always come from dramatic life changes. Sometimes it begins with one small moment of awareness, one honest reflection, or one kinder choice towards oneself.

A lot of readers have actually described the book as feeling like a “warm hug,” and I think that captures my intention beautifully. I wanted people to feel less alone in what they are experiencing. So many individuals silently carry self-doubt, guilt, emotional exhaustion, confusion, or shame, believing something is wrong with them. I hope the book reminds them that they are human, that healing is possible, and that they deserve compassion from themselves too. More than anything, I hope the book helps people slowly reconnect with themselves in a more honest, grounded, and loving way.

The Literatrue Today: Beyond being a psychologist, you are also a writer, reader, and dance enthusiast. How have these creative passions contributed to your understanding of healing and emotional well-being?

Damini Grover: I think these creative spaces are not separate from me  they are extensions of who I am. Psychology is my profession and a huge part of my purpose, but writing, reading, dancing, music, creativity, expression, these are the spaces where I simply get to be myself. And I think that is deeply important for emotional wellbeing. When you give yourself spaces where you can laugh freely, dance without inhibition, sing your heart out, express your thoughts, create something meaningful, or simply exist without constantly performing for the world, you come alive in a very different way. You reconnect with joy, freedom, spontaneity, and presence. These experiences remind you that you already have a place in the world, you do not need permission to express yourself fully. I think people often underestimate the value of creativity and self-expression. We tend to treat these things as hobbies or extracurricular activities limited to school years, but they are so much more than that. They are deeply therapeutic channels of release, expression, self-discovery, and connection. Creative pursuits also help people evolve emotionally. They allow you to meet different parts of yourself, understand your voice, build confidence, connect with others authentically, and form a healthier relationship with your inner world. For me personally, these spaces have always been healing because they allow me to move beyond roles, labels, achievements, and expectations and simply experience life more fully and authentically.

The Literatrue Today: Your work has been recognised through prestigious awards and publications in leading platforms worldwide. How have these experiences strengthened your mission of spreading awareness around mental and emotional health?

Damini Grover: I think these recognitions have been deeply meaningful and I’m genuinely grateful for them, especially because many of them came at very important phases of my personal and professional journey. In many ways, they felt validating, almost like reminders that the work I have been quietly committed to over the years is reaching people and creating impact. At the same time, I don’t think these awards created my mission or strengthened it in isolation. The mission was always there. My desire to spread awareness around emotional wellbeing, self-worth, healing, and mental health has always come from the work itself from sitting with people, hearing their stories, witnessing human struggle, and understanding how deeply emotional health shapes every aspect of life. What these recognitions have done is reassure me that I am on the right path and encourage me to continue showing up with even greater responsibility, honesty, and compassion. I think mental and emotional health conversations are becoming increasingly important globally, but there is still a long way to go in terms of awareness, accessibility, emotional education, and reducing shame around seeking support. If my work, writing, workshops, or conversations can help even a few people feel seen, understood, or encouraged to seek help and reconnect with themselves, then I believe the work is meaningful.

The Literatrue Today: If you could leave the readers with one lasting thought about happiness, self-worth, and emotional healing, what would you want them to remember from “Time To Come Home”?

Damini Grover:  If I could leave readers with one lasting thought, it would be this: the most important relationship you will ever have is the one you have with yourself. Every other relationship in your life, in some way, reflects and gets influenced by that relationship. We spend so much of our lives searching outside ourselves for validation, acceptance, belonging, love, and reassurance, often forgetting that our sense of worth cannot be entirely dependent on the world around us. At some point, we have to return to ourselves. And I genuinely want people to remember that their worth is not something they have to constantly earn, prove, or fight for. You are worthy simply because you exist, because there is life within you, because you are human. Your value is not determined only by achievements, labels, external success, productivity, or how perfectly you fit into society’s expectations. To me, truly “coming home” to yourself means living a life that feels aligned with who you are at your core. It means slowly letting go of the voices of conditioning, shame, comparison, fear, and constant self-criticism, and learning to trust your own inner voice again. It is about feeling at peace within yourself instead of constantly being at war with who you are. And I think emotional healing ultimately begins there when you stop abandoning yourself and start meeting yourself with honesty, compassion, dignity, and acceptance.