Head Above Water

- Blurb -

Engaging and enriching understanding of illness and disability, written by an author who lives with Multiple Sclerosis and has experienced living with disability herself. Head Above Water takes us into a space of intimate conversations on illness and society' s stigmatisation 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. SELLING POINTS: . Engaging and enriching understanding of illness and disability . 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 . Provides a greater understanding of the Arab world and illness in the Middle East . Emphasises the importance of human connection and each of our personal stories . The book is suitable for the Barbellion Prize dedicated to the furtherance of ill and disabled voices in writing AUTHOR: Shahd Alshammari is assistant professor of literature and lives with Multiple Sclerosis. She was diagnosed at the age of 18. Her works center on disability, women' s studies, and Arab women' s narratives.