Noting that Cheryl shared a similar sense of humour as him, he decided to write about her first days at work, in his usual comic style.
“It was meant as a gift, which I planned to give her a month down the road, after she had gotten acclimated to the job. To show her, see, you didn’t need to be so worried after all,” Boey told FMT Lifestyle.
“But after hearing about her experiences on the first day, and the second, and the next…I realised she was in a very toxic environment.”
A week of writing turned into two, then into a month, and soon Boey had enough material for an entire book in his hands.
“I realised this couldn’t just be a book for her. This had to be a book for everyone, so people would know what working in a toxic environment looked like. I don’t think she’s the only one going through this,” Boey said.
The result was “How was your day,” which depicts the life of the character Cheryl as she struggles to build a life she is satisfied with, dealing with difficult bosses, high family expectations, and finding love.
Told in Boey’s familiar comic style, this highly relatable book will strike a chord with anyone who has ever felt lost at any time of their lives.
The Singaporean-born Boey, who grew up on a songbird farm in Johor, is best known for his book “When I Was A Kid.” This 2011 collection of illustrated stories from his childhood shot the author to fame, and was followed by a number of well-received sequels: “When I Was A Kid 2, 3, 4, 5…and 7.”
Wait, why is there no “When I Was A Kid 6”? The author is tight-lipped.
“A lot of people want to know what’s up with that, there’s been a lot of conspiracy theories. But I’m going to keep that a mystery for now,” Boey quips.
“How was your day” marks the first time the author is publishing a non-“When I Was Kid” book. He said he gets nervous thinking about how his readers, so used to reading about his childhood anecdotes, will take to reading about different characters and themes.
“The book felt like a reset of my career. It’s also given me insight that I can handle writing something different. I kept thinking, ‘What if the book isn’t received well?’ But I realised, a lot of this is just in my head,” he said.
This isn’t the first time Boey’s normally light-hearted writing has taken more serious tones. The author shared how when writing “When I was A Kid 7” (2022), he uncovered repressed memories of a traumatic event involving one of his father’s apprentices. Despite its heavy tone, Boey addressed it in his book, and believes he has closure.
Complicating matters was how the author was still somewhat affected after one of his books was banned by the Home Ministry last year.
“Things have been tough. When I write my books, I only want to promote the country in a good way. So, this took a lot of the writer out of me for a while. It’s never nice to have something like this hanging over your head, especially when you’re starting something new,” he said.
Despite these setbacks, the author has persevered, stepping out of his comfort zone for this new title. Thankfully, the book was well-received by the most important person: Cheryl was reportedly moved when reading it.
And as for everyone else who reads the book, he hopes it will give them new insights and perspectives on work life.
“If you’re a boss, I hope it makes you consider how you behave at work, your actions have consequences. They affect everyone’s lives, and not just at the office,” he said.
“If you cannot relate to working in these toxic environments, great for you. You win at this part of life! But if you have been in Cheryl’s position, I hope you know you are not alone. You can break out of this situation.”
Cheeming Boey’s ‘How was your day’ is available for purchase here.