Writer’s Biography for Illumination

Introducing: Tamara Sonak

“I hope my stories engage readers and their desire to learn something new about the world — and even about themselves too.”

My name’s Tamara Sonak. I’m a professional writer, freelancer, and creative writing enthusiast. I’m also a passionate music devotee, a video game lover, and a highly sensitive introvert — who has most people fooled into thinking otherwise. It’s a pleasure to meet you.

A Little Background on Me

My writing experience started the moment I could read. I’d create whimsical stories inspired by a blend of all the fantasy movies I’d watch and hand them over to my mom like she was my submissions editor.

In my adolescence, I was a contributor to my school newspaper. I was also elected secretary of my student council, in which I was in charge of producing all sorts of communications. My love for poetry and prose developed around this timeframe; I was too insecure to submit my compositions into writing contests, even with the encouragement of my poetry teacher at the time — to this day, I kind of still am.

As an adult, I held various office job titles where it was my responsibility to index documents, write work instructions, develop equipment manuals, and other internal documentation — all the fun, technical stuff. And since life has a funny way of circling back, I later went to college and came out with a degree in liberal arts with a concentration in creative writing.

Now, I create content for blogs and online publications in lifestyle niches like personal wellness, self-development, and plant-based living. Here’s a little bit about why I write on these topics:

Personal Wellness

In 2020, I started developing symptoms of what I now know to be inflammatory arthritis. It is a diagnosis and condition that I’m still trying to grapple with. Compile that onto my generalized anxiety that I’ve struggled with since my younger years — I have my hands full to say the least. As such, I go the extra mile to help keep my mind, body, and spirit in check. Using my voice as a writer, I hope to help my fellow pain warriors and worry warts (terms of endearment) to feel seen and find comfort in their situational and non-elected spawn points — as well as anyone else who can benefit from my content about physical, mental, emotional, and social self-care.

Plant-Based Living

As part of my initiative to live a healthy lifestyle, even before my rheumatological condition, being a vegan brought personal radiance to my life. This December will be my seventh anniversary of switching steak for seitan (at the time of writing this), and I’m still just as passionate about it. As a writer, I like to teach — not preach — the physical, financial, and environmental benefits of a plant-based lifestyle for anyone who’s plant-curious. I also include some tongue-in-cheek humor in my pieces for well-established vegans, as living this lifestyle can sometimes have its social challenges.

Self-Development

From social comparison theory, attachment styles, and Myers-Briggs personality types, I read and write about it all. Psychology has always been a deep interest of mine; my goal of going to college was to become a psychologist at first. I only chose not to pursue it when I realized my overflow of empathy would probably get me too emotionally attached to my clients — plus, I’m a work in progress myself. But I can still scratch this itch by creating content about it. I find it challenging and fun to write about personal psychology to regular folk in a non-sciencey way who have curious minds and an insatiable need for introspection. My recent work on introversion has been featured on Introvert, Dear, one of the web’s largest online publications for introverts.

Personal Life Facts

Along with being a professional writer, I suppose I’m also a professional dreamer and student at heart. I have an adoration for other countries and cultures; I’m learning German and Japanese so that I can be proficient enough to speak and write in these languages when I travel abroad one day.

I married my best friend in 2018, and we purchased our first home in 2020. I have a dog and a cat that I love very much, and I couldn’t imagine my life without them. When my arthritis isn’t crippling me, I like to spend time with family and friends. In my downtime, I enjoy reading, listening to music, playing video games, binge-watching TV, and cooking all sorts of homemade, plant-based delights in the kitchen — an introvert’s paradise.

Conclusively, Yours

I love learning new things and writing forces me to learn something new every day. It challenges me to go outside my comfort zone and sometimes be vulnerable. I hope my stories engage readers and their desire to learn something new about the world — and even about themselves too.

Thanks for reading, until next time.