Those who survive know that there is a story to tell.
“Shahd’s…sensuous prose explores the manipulation of memory, the question of time, and gender politics…intricacies of love, …body, motherhood, the pervasive power of language, the power of women’s education, and synergy between Professor and student. It is a brave book.” – Jokha Alharthi, Author of Celestial Bodies, winner of the International Man Booker Prize
“An important piece of life writing – Shahd Alshammari’s memoir breaks new ground in representing the lives of disabled Arab women.” – Dr. Roxanne Douglas, University of Warwick
#MultipleSclerosis #womensbodies #health #nonfiction #memoir #coping #healing #survival #family #friendship #MiddleEasternCulture #disability
Head Above Water takes us into a space of intimate conversations on illness and society’s stigmatization of disabled bodies. We are invited in to ask the big questions about life, loss, and the place of the other. The narrative builds a bridge that reminds us of our common humanity and weaves the threads that tie us all together. Through conversations about women’s identities, bodies, and our journeys through life, we arrive at a politics of love, survival, and hope.Author: Shahd Alshammari has Multiple Sclerosis. After gaining her PhD in the UK, Alshammari became an Assistant Professor of Literature in Kuwait. Her research interests focus on women with mental illness in literature. Alshammari is especially interested in the concept of hybridity, having been born to a Bedouin father and a Palestinian mother. She is also interested in Disability Studies and the correlation of disability studies with identity in the Arab world, having been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis at the age of 18.
- Engaging and enriching understanding of illness and disability
- Provides a greater understanding of the Arab world and illness in the Middle East
- Author lives with Multiple Sclerosis and has experienced living with disability herself
- The book deals with relationships and discrimination in the context of disability
- Deals with topical issues like women’s bodies, women’s health issues, identities, family, friendships, cultural taboos; misogyny; Middle Eastern culture
- Emphasizes the importance of human connection and each of our personal stories
Hardback/ Paperback
978-1-911107-39-2 /978-1911107-40-8
30 May 2022
£24.99 / £10.99
EBook / Audiobook
978-1-911107-41-5/ 978-1-911107-42-2
30 May 2022
£9.99 / £24.99
Market General/Trade
Subject: Memoir, Disability, Medical Humanities
All Worldwide Rights, Excluding Arabic Rights Are Available.
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neemtreepresswww.neemtreepress.com
| Foreign rights contact Wampe de Veer at b.lit.agency@gmail.com For US & Canada and select translation rights contact: Emily Randle at emily@randleeditorial.co.uk Orders to: UK, Europe, and Rest of World: Casemate UK Tel: +44 (0)1865 241249 Email: trade@casematepublishers.co.uk |
Disability Research Forum 