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A review by mmarlborough
Between Two Kingdoms: A Memoir of a Life Interrupted by Suleika Jaouad
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
5.0
5 ⭐️ alert!!!! Wow, I’ve been on an incredible memoir kick recently and this one is exceptional.
Suleika is living her best life after graduating college: she’s living in Paris and dating an amazing new guy. But she is fatigued and not feeling well so she goes to the doctor where her whole life changes. She’s diagnosed with leukemia and told she’ll only have a 35% change of survival. She goes home to the United States to begin treatment that will take over her life for the next four tumultuous years. Finally told she can have a life again, Suleika is lost and decides she needs an extreme transition in her life. She embarks on an epic cross country trip to visit many of the incredible people who wrote to her while she was bedridden.
This memoir is divided into two sections: her life before the diagnosis along with her time sick and her reemergence into society after beating cancer. I found both compelling and well written, showing the stark dividing line in her life. No one prepares Jaouad for her life after treatment. How can she work with her physical limitations and constant fatigue? How can she move on and feel confident and safe in her body and the world? Her voice is raw and she paints a vivid and whole picture of her mindset and struggles. I cannot wait read more by Jaouad.
✨Trigger Warnings: Cancer, Medical Content, Death, Grief, Racism
Suleika is living her best life after graduating college: she’s living in Paris and dating an amazing new guy. But she is fatigued and not feeling well so she goes to the doctor where her whole life changes. She’s diagnosed with leukemia and told she’ll only have a 35% change of survival. She goes home to the United States to begin treatment that will take over her life for the next four tumultuous years. Finally told she can have a life again, Suleika is lost and decides she needs an extreme transition in her life. She embarks on an epic cross country trip to visit many of the incredible people who wrote to her while she was bedridden.
This memoir is divided into two sections: her life before the diagnosis along with her time sick and her reemergence into society after beating cancer. I found both compelling and well written, showing the stark dividing line in her life. No one prepares Jaouad for her life after treatment. How can she work with her physical limitations and constant fatigue? How can she move on and feel confident and safe in her body and the world? Her voice is raw and she paints a vivid and whole picture of her mindset and struggles. I cannot wait read more by Jaouad.
✨Trigger Warnings: Cancer, Medical Content, Death, Grief, Racism