Finding joy — and a book deal — before dawn

Surbhi Bansal, M.D. thrives on structure. Every morning her alarm goes off at 4:45 a.m., and for the first hour of the day, while sipping on a cup of black coffee, she writes.   

The ophthalmologist and self-proclaimed Type A personality said being a writer was never an aspiration of hers before 2020. But when VCU’s ambulatory clinics temporarily shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic, she needed something that felt productive to fill her time. She quickly found both satisfaction and peace in the writing process, and it became an integral part of her daily life even when the clinics reopened. 

Now, after self-publishing several previous works of fiction and nonfiction, Bansal’s daily dedication to her craft has culminated in a dream shared by writers everywhere: a contemporary novel, picked up by a publishing house and distributed to bookstores across the U.S. 

“I never thought I would become a writer, and I started because I felt I needed to do something after being so busy all the time,” Bansal said. “Now, I am doing it for my own joy.”  

Mary Daly, chair of the Department of Ophthalmology, commended Bansal for her commitment to her passions both in and out of the clinic. She said it’s people like Bansal who make VCU a dynamic and meaningful place to learn, work and serve.  

“VCU’s most valuable asset is its people, and the School of Medicine comprises so many unique, talented and innovative individuals,” Daly said. “Supporting their creative pursuits and outside interests is critical to their personal growth and a key contributor to the vibrancy of the VCU community.” 

From silence to a single ‘yes’ 

The book, “Do Not Follow,” centers around a 52-year-old immigrant woman named Sema, who returns home to India for her father’s funeral 17 years after a falling-out with her family. The story delves into grief, complex family dynamics, medical burnout and the immigrant experience. When asked how much of herself she put into the protagonist, Bansal smiled.   

“I think there are a lot of thoughts and personality traits that, if my friends read the book, they’ll see me in it,” she said.  

Bansal chipped away at the plot and character development in one-hour increments every day for about a year, then turned her focus during those morning sessions to finding a publisher. She knew that hearing nothing after three or four months meant “no,” and the disappointing silence from upwards of 200 publishers started to take a toll on her confidence.  

It was her husband, Vishal, who convinced her to keep going. Bansal said he has always supported her writing aspirations — fittingly, their first date 12 years ago was at a Barnes & Noble bookstore — and credits him with the motivation she needed to persist in finding a publisher.  

“I was going to self-publish, and he said, ‘You did that last time. Why don’t you just hang on and keep sending it out?’” Bansal said. “And you know, all you need is one ‘yes.’”   

Bansal was traveling solo in India last December when her phone dinged with the email from Koehler Books, which she initially assumed was spam. After cross-checking the name with the Excel sheet containing the dozens of contacts to whom she had sent her manuscript, she texted her husband in disbelief to share the news that a publishing house based in Virginia Beach was interested in her book. 

Even now that the novel is out in the world, she said it’s still hard to believe that she’s a published novelist.  

“Getting appreciation from the literary community, from other writers and people who are in this field, I just feel so great,” Bansal said. “Taking a hobby to the next level feels like a huge accomplishment. It feels like this little secret that I have, in addition to being a full-time associate professor and physician here.”  

A balancing act

No matter what happens during that writing hour, Bansal closes her laptop at 6 a.m. and resists the urge to check her personal email again until the next day. This separation helps her stay focused at work, she said, where she is focused on seeing patients with glaucoma, performing surgery, teaching new techniques to residents and catching up on administrative duties. It also makes her “excited to go back home and start writing again the next morning.” Evenings and weekends are reserved for her husband and their two kids, with dedicated time for homework, music lessons and watching the family’s favorite Indian sitcom, “Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah.”  

Managing her time like this is a skill she described as “simple, but hard to do,” and it’s one she tries to pass along to others. In her role as an associate professor and mentor at the School of Medicine, she often guides trainees in developing their own work-life balance.  

Linnet Rodriguez, M.D., a retina specialist in Florida who completed her ophthalmology residency at VCU Health in 2022, said she admires Bansal’s ability to compartmentalize. She described Bansal as a knowledgeable surgeon, a patient mentor, a dedicated mother and a talented writer.  

“It is very rare to see a physician achieve a good balance between personal and professional life, and she does it all,” Rodriguez said. “I have learned so much from Dr. Bansal, and I aspire to be like her one day.” 

While keeping medicine and writing separate, Bansal has found that they each complement one another. Ophthalmology inherently requires strong analytical and observational skills, she said, both of which help fine-tune her attention to detail as a writer. She has also developed a deeper appreciation for stories and storytelling within her practice as a doctor.   

“I think writing perhaps makes me a better physician,” she said. “I just enjoy the beauty of the stories people tell me and getting to know a person beyond their diabetic reading or their eye pressure.” 

Now that “Do Not Follow” has been released, Bansal spends her 5 a.m. hour researching marketing opportunities and contacting influencers for potential partnerships. As for what’s next, she has a mythical fantasy novel in the works — she’s eager to dig into it, one morning hour at a time. 

“I’m in no hurry, maybe I’ll finish it in two or three years,” she said. “Just slow and steady, that is the way for me to go.

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The School of Medicine communications team is always looking to highlight student success, faculty achievement, cutting-edge research and innovative initiatives around the MCV Campus. If you have an idea for a story, please submit your pitch to laura.ingles@vcuhealth.org.