Léelo en:

I’m delighted to announce that The International Review of Books has just awarded a Gold badge of achievement to my book Awake, Arise, or Be Forever Fallen!

Here’s the full review:

Awake, Arise, or Be Forever Fallen!

Which line stood out from all the others in the book? 

I realized that life is just like a butterfly on a flower: we must enjoy it while we can because it will soon fly away, never to return.  

General thoughts on the Novel:

A moving account of the trials and tribulations of a young male who is suffering from anorexia nervosa and which brought him a few feet away from his death and how he fought it mentally and physically to overcome it and, in the end, lead an almost normal life. The sketches depicting the various stages and mood of the story add another dimension to the story. The quotes at the beginning of the chapters are beautifully aligned with the theme of the chapter and blend well with the storyline.

General Summary for Context:

An emotional and touching story of a young male who was having a great life till he started suffering from anorexia nervosa and it began to completely destroy his life. The story highlights how he underwent great sacrifices and suffering to overcome this disorder as the disease is seen more as a mental block that is very difficult to overcome and which then affects the physical body leading to disastrous consequences.

Concise Review:

A poignant coming of age story of a young anorexic male who was leading a great life until he started suffering from anorexia nervosa which began to completely destroy his life until he was just a few feet away from death. However, ironically, the turning point for the author comes about when the Grim Reaper a.k.a. Death helps him during one of his encounters to come out of his morbid anorexia nervosa state. The chance encounter with the Grim Reaper makes him realize that life is very important and we should lead a happy and enjoyable life. He begins to change his mindset and from then onwards, he is on the path to self-recovery and recovers his health. Factually, the story highlights that more than 90% of the diagnosed anorexia cases are female but it also affects males and his case is a unique case which he wanted to highlight in the form of a story so that other people in the world would benefit – to give them hope they can overcome the disease as well.

The story delineates the incredible suffering, hardship and mental trauma that the author faced on account of anorexia nervosa which is an eating disorder that is marked by extremely reduced appetite and total aversion to food and it is also seen as a serious psychological disorder. This leads to his emaciated appearance over a period of time. The story highlights how he steeled his mind to gain control over his body after undertaking a lot of sacrifices and suffering. There is a grim foreboding undercurrent throughout the story that makes you want to see what would happen in the end. A crisp short motivating story interspersed with the gravity of human suffering and how the author overcame it to come out trumps in the end.

*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***