Light has always been seen as the most powerful emblem of good. Without light there can be no life. Without light there would only be darkness and we would be blind.

Yet, consider what it would be like if there were no darkness. Too much light and a picture becomes overexposed, washed out, unclear. With only light, we are likewise blinded, unable to see.

What gives us clarity and contrast is the juxtaposition of light and dark and the existence of all the shades in between. In this book, Tina Shireen Salleh's second work of poetry and short stories, the author explores what it is to be human, celebrates both the light and the dark within us, and recognises what lies in between, the Necessary Shadows.