Poetry and true life stories about women with breast cancer in Tanzania. The testimonies in Brave Faces are told through personal stories and poetry that speak to this courage, the loneliness, the anger and the pain of loosing that most precious part of femininity - breasts.
Deeply rooted in the cultures of both Oman and Zanzibar, Nasra Al Adawi writes of inner journeys as important as those between continents and civilizations. Descended from the peoples of Africa and of Oman, she writes in the languages of Tanzania. The various identities merge. She writes of brave faces turned towards cancer. But perhaps the bravest face of all is that of a poet who brings together in herself and in her writing the contradictions of a world at odds with itself even as a body wracked with cancer rejects the substance of itself. And in this coming together there is hope ... --Dr. Karin Paasche: University of Dortmund, Germany
Excerpt
Every human being has enjoyed the comfort and safety of his or her mother’s womb and most
of us, during our infancy, have subsisted on our mother’s breast milk.
In other words, a mother’s
womb and breast milk embody the essence of life. Therefore, breast and cervical cancers stalk
the essence of life. We cannot take these illnesses more seriously. I have met brave women who
have fought breast and cervical cancers at some point during their lives. Some made it, some
could not but, all of them, including my cousin’s sister who died of breast cancer in September
2005, have taught us tremendous lessons in life: courage, faith and hope. I tried hard to help
save my dear sister’s life. She fought gallantly to survive, but our efforts could not match the
might of this deadly disease.
Indeed, survivor’s words in this book, poetic in their expression, are as pregnant with hope as
they are rich in inspiration.
Professional Reviews
A book full of reality
Review of Brave Faces by Nasra Al Adawi
Perhaps it will seem strange to some that I, as a man, feel moved to review, and hopefully encourage others to read, this book. The truth is that cancer in its many forms touches most of us in some way: in my case it stole both of my parents and has undoubtedly left me with my own latent fears and an unspoken empathy with those who are struck by it and, of course those who are close to them.
Nasra Al Adawi deals with breast cancer and cervical cancer and does so in a unique and comprehensive way. She uses professional, medical advice to let her readers learn more about the illnesses but, equally importantly, she uses her own poetry, and that of others, together with first person accounts from women who have undergone the physical and emotional pain of cancer.
The truth is that these particular cancers carry so much emotional weight in terms of self-image and sexuality and it is vital that these aspects are dealt with as they are within these pages. The Route, one of the poems, sums it up all too well: “The path of living is not a silky route.” Brave Face speaks of “wailing inside.”
Then, moving on to the first person accounts, we learn from Jane Doe about the suffering of loved ones: the cancer can have a profound effect upon them. I think that we can easily “understand” this in a cool, objective way but hearing it from a patient gives the knowledge new meaning and impact.
Should money be an issue in the treatment of such illnesses? Obviously not - but reality says otherwise and we can see this in the writing of Farida Bawazir.
Or look at the words of Jane Smith, and remember that she did not survive.
These brief references cannot do justice to the whole book. I was put in mind of John Hersey’s Hiroshima, which gives us insight into that tragedy by letting us here of it from the viewpoint of those who were there. Nasra Al Adawi gives us the same privilege when dealing with her topic. It is a book for all: men, women, sufferers, non-sufferers, friends and loved ones. Let this book give your information, advice and, above all, inspiration. As the author says in her poetry, “face the waves” and deal with “the trenches of life.”
This is a book full of reality, hope - and heart. Read it now.
Floots
A book of compassion
Brave Faces is a book of compassion and courage. The compassion of Nasra Al Adawi and
the courage of the women cancer survivors. I had my own encounter with cancer 7 years ago
so I know the journey through cancer takes courage; it also takes courage to speak of that
journey. The testimonies in Brave Faces are told through personal stories and poetry that
speak to this courage, the loneliness, the anger and the pain of loosing that most precious
part of our femininity - our breasts. Nasra asks “... is it sensible to fight cancer with poetry”?
My answer is though I wish I had had this book with me on my own journey, I thank her
for bringing it to me now because the memories remain and the healing is not yet complete.
Sokari Ekine, Activist, Blogger and Online Editor of Pambazuka News English, Port Harcourt, London,
Granada, Nigeria
Brave Faces is profoundly important
Nasra Al Adawi is an amazing woman of courage. Her courage comes from her pure compassion. Brave Faces is profoundly important to all of us. Cancer was the thief taking my mother when she was just 59, and it has touched the lives of many other loved ones and friends. Nasra's poetry speaks to the courage, love, and hope cancer victims and their loved ones need so desperately. This book should be available in every hospital waiting room across the world. That s how important I believe it is. --Don Iannone, poet and organizational changeorganizational change, Ohio, USA
This collection of poetry addresses the nature of time, reflections on the natural world, the difficulty of loss,
contemporary social issues and gratitude for life.
This is my personal inspirational book of poetry. It contains many poems written for family, friends, and relevant life situations. Hopefully you will find some that will encourage and inpsire you in whatever arena you are found in your circle of l
