Hadeer Amin: “I’m Just an Ordinary Girl Who Chose to Dream – Writing Became My Way to Survive”

Cairo – Maii Abdo:

Amid scraps of fabric in a small room, a story quietly began. At nine years old, Hadeer Amin held scissors for the first time, gazing at pieces of cloth as if they were maps to a life beyond the limits of her surroundings.

Little did she know that these scraps would one day evolve into “Needle & Brush”, a creative venture blending art and life, or that the whispers she wrote to herself in moments of solitude would transform into books bearing her name. The pain she endured would eventually become a source of healing—for herself and others.

Hadeer, a writer and founder of Needle & Brush, refuses to be portrayed as a superhero. “I’m just an ordinary girl who decided to dream,” she insists. Yet her journey tells an extraordinary story: a young woman who graduated from the Faculty of Archaeology, Department of Restoration, and chose to restore herself before restoring artifacts.Between her study of history and her passion for art, Hadeer sought a space that belonged solely to her.

Drawing came early, art therapy captivated her, and entrepreneurship had long been a dream. She constantly asked herself: Why not leave a mark with my name? Why not enter history with a book? Inspired by motivational platforms and the vision of making an impact, she eventually turned her dream into reality, becoming a voice that others listen to.

Her influence extends beyond books and workshops to television and public speaking. Hadeer has appeared on programs such as Set El Hosn, Family Home, Our Life, and New Day on Alhurra TV, sharing her journey in writing, art therapy, and entrepreneurship. She emphasizes that creativity is not a luxury—it is essential for mental well-being.

At TEDx, she recounted her story: a child holding scissors became a woman who believes in the transformative power of words. Her media presence is more than exposure; it is an extension of her mission to inspire others to dream, create, and write their own stories.

In her first book, Aziz, Hadeer chose the epistolary form, weaving a narrative across two generations: a grandmother writing to understand herself, and a granddaughter rediscovering her identity through letters.

The ending is intentionally open, inviting readers to write their own stories, reinforcing her belief that writing has the power to transform and heal.Aziz emerged from personal hardship.

Hadeer endured a period of severe depression, and the letters in the book were originally her own, written during vulnerable moments and later reshaped for the narrative.

Even the story’s ending, which reflects the loss of her closest friend, was drawn from lived experience. She explains that writing allowed her to regain balance, as if words were holding her steady.Her deep understanding of self-expression led her further into art therapy.

Hadeer observes that people often remain trapped in memories or unspoken emotions, unaware of how to articulate them.

For her, the body speaks when words fail, and art and writing are the tools to restore harmony between the inner and outer self.This theme is central in her short story collection, Stuck in Memory. Characters live in the present yet remain tethered to past experiences.

The settings are psychological landscapes—streets, houses, and scents become vaults of memory—while her compassionate narration delves into the characters’ inner worlds.

Despite the pain in her language, it offers comfort, as if whispering: You are not alone.Beyond literature, Needle & Brush represents another dimension of Hadeer’s dream. She fused childhood sewing skills with a love for painting to create a project that integrates art into daily life.

What began as a small, experimental idea grew into a team with ambitions to expand from online platforms to a larger workshop, reaching markets across the Arab world and beyond. The journey was challenging, especially with her mother’s initial insistence on the security of a government job, but success eventually turned fear into support.

Hadeer embraces her multifaceted professional journey as enrichment rather than contradiction. She has worked as a seamstress, makeup artist, painter, and art instructor—each role shaping her resilience and courage.

Looking ahead, her vision is to establish an academy for children to explore all forms of art before discovering their true passion. She believes self-discovery comes through experimentation, just as she found her love of writing by writing and the healing power of words through confronting her own pain.

At the conclusion of the story, Hadeer Amin remains, as she describes herself: an ordinary girl who understood that dreaming is a choice, and that creativity is not a luxury but a path to self-understanding, survival, and growth.

Between a needle guiding fabric and a brush tracing words, her journey continues—restoring what is broken and transforming memory from constraint into a bridge.-