Sameer Gudhate Presents the Book Review of Hide But Seek by Mishti Verma

There are books that inform you, and then there are books that change how you see. Hide But Seek by Mishti Verma belongs to the latter — the kind that quietly rearranges your thoughts, leaving you both stirred and stilled.

I’ll admit, as a man, I began this book with curiosity — almost as an observer, wanting to understand what “the feminine voice” truly means in a world that often speaks over it. But within a few pages, curiosity turned to connection. Mishti’s words don’t exclude; they embrace. They invite you, gently but firmly, to look beyond gender and into the raw human need to be seen, heard, and allowed to exist without shrinking.

Mishti Verma — writer, coach, and expressive arts therapist — has worked with more than 7000 women through her initiative Inner Katha. That number alone tells you something about her depth of listening. Yet this book isn’t just a reflection of her work; it’s a mirror to the quiet battles women (and, by extension, all of us) fight within. Hide But Seek is a unique blend of poetic gender essays, coaching stories, and deeply personal reflections. It’s not theory — it’s lived truth.

One line that stayed with me long after I closed the book:
“I was not making a rangoli… I was painting my boundaries.”
That moment — defiant, sacred, and…