Head Above Water: Reflections on Illness

Shahd Alshammaris memoir, Head Above Water, explores her diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis at eighteen in a conservative Kuwaiti society, examining memory, time, gender politics, and the power of women's education.

Format: Hardback
Length: 200 pages
Publication date: 30 May 2022
Publisher: Neem Tree Press Limited

Head Above Water is a captivating memoir by Professor Shahd Alshammaris, who was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis at the age of eighteen in a conservative Kuwaiti society. Drawing from her diary entries and fading memories as the disease progresses, Alshammaris offers a poignant and personal account of her journey. Through her sensuous prose, she delves into the manipulation of memory, the complexities of time, and the intricate interplay of gender politics. The book invites readers to reconsider the intricacies of love, the body, motherhood, the power of language, the significance of womens education, and the profound synergy between the professor and her student.

Omani author Jokha Alharthi praises Alshammaris work, stating that it evokes the famous line from Yeats, "a terrible beauty is born." In Alshammaris memoir, illness becomes that terrible beauty, impacting her life but never defining it. Arthur W. Frank, Ph.D., author of At the Will of the Body and The Wounded Storyteller, also commends the book, highlighting its groundbreaking representation of the lives of disabled Arab women. He notes that Alshammaris memoir breaks new ground by exploring connections between the body, language, and culture. Dr. Roxanne Douglas, from the University of Warwick, praises Alshammaris memoir as a sensitive and moving invitation to reconsider the stories that we are made of.

Marcia Lynx Qualey, a writer and disability advocate, describes Head Above Water as a necessary and beautiful account of life with a sometimes-invisible and unpredictable disability. She acknowledges the complexities that come with living with Multiple Sclerosis, compounded by patriarchy, racism, and the professor's love for teaching and being taught. Qualey praises Alshammaris for her ability to convey the nuances and challenges of living with a disability while also celebrating the act of learning and growth.

Weight: 292g
Dimension: 138 x 204 x 26 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781911107392