Feeling Down? Read This:

I just finished this book the other day, and like A Thousand Splendid Suns (which I finished last month, really liked, and highly recommend), it is very sad. Both books are based on true events that have happened in the past thirty years. This book is an autobiography of a Moroccan woman born into high society who spent twenty years as a prisoner of the state (along with her mother and siblings) after her father staged a coup against the Moroccan king. I kid you not, the conditions that this innocent girl and her family had to live in make Auschwitz seem luxurious. I cannot believe that they all managed to keep their sanity and maintain hope and courage to stay alive through all of that. What really amazes me is this family's lack of enmity and bitterness towards their captors which allowed them to lead successful and fulfilling lives after their release. Malika Oufkir does a fantastic job of telling her story and of inspiring the reader to be better and live a great life.

In the past few months, I have not been as gracious as I should and could be with handling trials. I hate how sick pregnancy makes me. I would really like to be my old self again and have a job to support myself and my husband. My family has also recently learned that my little sister, Hanna, probably has Lymphoma cancer (we're anxiously waiting for biopsy results and PRAYING that it's only Hodgkins Lymphoma, which is the most treatable Lymphoma). I try to keep optimistic through everything, but sometimes I admit that I grumble to myself. So I am very grateful that I read this book, which has really put everything back into perspective for me:

Although I don't feel well, I'm generally very healthy, I always have food to eat, a warm bed to sleep in, family that loves me. I am free to go wherever I please and pursue whatever life and goals I choose to. Although my sister is sick, we live in the best country and times for her to get great care from amazing doctors. I really have nothing to complain about. After putting this book down, I have a new-found appreciation for my countless blessings and even for the rather small trials that the Lord asks me to endure on occassion. I would recommend this book to anyone, but especially to those going through hard times. It really helps make the hard times seem like a piece of cake!