The life of Selangor and Federal Territory Eurasian Association (Saftea) president Datuk Sheila Eleanor De Costa has been explored in a biography.
Tracing her family’s roots to her leadership in championing Eurasian community rights, the book also speaks to the broader search for identity, belonging and recognition faced by Eurasians in Malaysia.
De Costa said A Light Home: A Portuguese-Eurasian Journey by JK Asher was planned as a tale of how Saftea fought for and won a piece of land to build its community clubhouse.
“What started as a narrative from court and government documents became my own journey of discovery, about self and about the trials and tribulations I faced,” said De Costa.
She credited Asher for transforming what would have been an ordinary story into a compelling one.
“Writing this required digging deep into long-forgotten memories,” De Costa said at the book launch in Kuala Lumpur, which was attended by her family, friends and members of the Eurasian community.
Asher, whose previous novel The Inverted Banyan Tree also explored Eurasian identity, said: “The Eurasians’ search for identity is their baptism by history.
“A Light Home is both the unveiling of one person’s life and an invitation to every Serani to stand tall in their inherited light.”
A Light Home: A Portuguese-Eurasian Journey is published by Partridge Publishing (Singapore) and is available in print and digital formats worldwide.
