The Healing Power Of Unconditional Love

There’s a saying that goes, “Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.” For one woman, these words resonated deeply. An unlikely companion came into her life at her lowest point and changed everything.

- Lorraine Chai

Armed with a cat carrier, Sherlyn Tan arrives at the coffee shop we’re supposed to meet and instead of taking the seat in front of me, she walks straight to the corner where a stray cat is lounging – it’s a heavily pregnant mama and she’s almost ready to deliver.

“Someone ‘tagged’ me on Instagram in a photo posted by this cafe. They were looking for someone to help this pregnant stray cat,” says Sherlyn, her lips curling. Suddenly, it dawns on me: An hour ago, I received a text message from her asking to meet at a different place, instead of the one we’d agreed on earlier. Now I see why. Her eyes fill with affection for the cat at first sight. “I fell in love with her immediately,” she smiles. But then she sighs, “The problem is, how do I house the cat and her kittens? My house is already full of pets.”

“I’m A Fake-out Of Myself”

The founder of the well-loved fashion label, Twenty3, Sherlyn was once very actively involved in the local fashion scene; she’d even brought her brand name to the Kuala Lumpur Fashion Week (KLFW). Taking her online business offline, she had even expanded her business by launching brick-and-mortar stores within the country and eventually to Australia. “Business was peaking, but I had to call a halt,” she discloses.

Sherlyn reveals that she tends to have feelings of low self-esteem because of childhood experiences, so being promoted thrice within a year-and-a-half at her job gave her a major confidence boost. With much faith, she left her stable job to pursue her dream to become a singer, but the journey was far from pleasant for her. There were times when she didn’t get paid after a gig and at other times people would run away with her earnings.