Writing saved me from chronic pain, says author

Jax Singh Taak spoke to Sikh veterans and their families to help inform his first novel

A self-published author who has written six books as well as screenplays and television series has told how writing has been his "solace" during his struggle with chronic pain.

Jax Singh Taak, 52, from Peterborough, who has suffered from back pain since a car accident more than 30 years ago, began writing his novels during the Covid-19 pandemic.

"My writing has saved me," he said. "It's given me solace and transcended my physical limitations.

"I can channel everything into my writing and my creative side and block out the pain, to a certain extent."

He self-published the first of his novels, Blitzkrieg Tommies, through Amazon, as first reported by the Peterborough Telegraph.

It was inspired by the contributions of British Sikh soldiers in the two world wars, which Mr Singh Taak said were often overlooked in fiction.

"There's never a Turban-wearing Sikh soldier as the protagonist in books or films," he said.

The rest of Mr Singh Taak's novels and screenplays remain unpublished but he hoped they would be picked up by a publishing house, and he would love "Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV and Sky to make my screenplays into movies".

"There are elements of Guy Ritchie, Stanley Kubrick and Quentin Tarantino in my writing," he said.

'Dunkirk spirit'

Mr Singh Taak said his Hollywood ambitions stemmed from childhood.

In the cinema, he used to hold his hand up to the word "Paramount" and "see my Punjabi name – Param – in lights", he said.

"Unfortunately, my chronic pain has always held me back."

The condition affects his mood, communication, sleep and daily life, but the "Dunkirk spirit", along with his writing, religion, charity work and family, have helped him cope.

Mr Singh Taak said he planned to donate some of the proceeds of Blitzkrieg Tommies to Help for Heroes and the Royal British Legion, and he hoped his own story would inspire other people in his situation.

"If I can help even one person who suffers from chronic pain with my story then that's enough for me," he said.