A Light Home: A Portuguese - Eurasian Journey by Sheila Eleanor De Costa

A Light Home: A Portuguese - Eurasian Journey by Sheila Eleanor De Costa

A LIGHT HOME traces a legacy of gold, God, and glory. During the fifteenth-century Golden Age of Discovery—born from the Renaissance—the newly opened Silk Road linked Europe to the mystical East, with Malacca in Malaya emerging as a vital port. As Portugal led the great voyages, soon followed by the Dutch and the English, these imperial powers battled one another as they pillaged the Orient and mingled with the local peoples of their conquered lands.

This book tells the story of the Portuguese Serani Eurasians of Malaysia, descendants of that historic union between Europe and Asia. Their past is marked by loss and marginalization, and their identity was forged in the fires of decolonization and rising nationalism. As they struggle to preserve what remains of a community cast away from Europe five centuries ago, they seek renewal of purpose and hope for the future.

Sheila DeCosta, President of the Selangor and Federal Territory Eurasian Association, chronicles her community’s fight for land—a clubhouse they can finally call home—in the 20th century. Their journey mirrors, on a smaller scale, the struggles of their Portuguese, Dutch, and English ancestors. Through the presidency, the Serani must navigate political challenges and contend with modern-day opportunists in order to realize their long-awaited dream.

For these Malaysian Eurasians, success depends on rising above individual ambition and embracing the strength of the collective. Only then can their voices be heard, securing a rightful place under the sun.

A LIGHT HOME is their story.

About The Author:

JK Asher grew up in Malaysia, where the haunting beauty of the Azan—the sacred call to prayer echoed across a land rich with spices. The vibrant multicultural life of the 1950s through the 1980s, despite the trauma of the 1969 race riots, remains deeply imprinted on her memory and spirit.

Having lived in Sydney for the past three decades, Asher wrote her first novel, The Inverted Banyan Tree, during what she describes as a period of self-imposed exile from her homeland, Tanah Tumpahnya Darahku. “I longed for home. It felt like an illness—an ache for the affirmation of the people who shaped my childhood. In Australia, I felt dislocated, as though I were a ghost wandering in someone else’s skin.”

Her debut novel emerged from her own search for belonging and the emotional conflict of being a pendatang (an immigrant) in Australia. This introspective journey carried her back to 16th-century Malacca and to the Kristang Eurasian community, descendants of Portuguese, Dutch, and English colonial encounters.

Her second nonfiction work, A Light Home, continues this exploration. It stands as a tribute to the resilient Kristang Eurasians, who are themselves grappling with the shadows of history as they seek identity and self-determination.

Asher’s creative path also spans film, television, and human-rights advocacy, particularly in support of refugees. Her documentary, From the Killing Fields to the Playing Fields, brings attention to the struggles of the Rohingya and their aspiration to compete in the CONIFA World Football Cup.

Find more books like A Light Home: A Portuguese - Eurasian Journey by Sheila Eleanor De Costa: Biographies