Between Two Kingdoms: A Memoir of a Life Interrupted
- Downloads：3224
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-03-03 00:20:49
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Suleika Jaouad
- ISBN：0399588604
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Sophia Lopez
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This book was pretty sad so just be prepared。 The writing and stories made it super interesting and worth it。 Overall really enjoyed it！
Srikantha Robinson
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Beautifully written
A_Stylish_Bookworm
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A beautiful story about the author’s journey with luekemia during her battle and her life afterwards。 I cried for her pain， her loss of friends she made along the way。 This story is heartbreaking but also gives you hope with all the people she meets along the way and finding her way as she recovers。
Samantha Hobson
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As a memoir of a particular period in this writers life I found it very well written and interesting。 During the first part of the book I think because of the hideous lengthy cancer treatments described and endured for a young person when illness is absolutely the last thing on their mind I let pass quite a few moments in the memoir that were pretty self centered in the choices she made。 I understand you want to live with your boyfriend and not your mum but to take Will's whole life for months o As a memoir of a particular period in this writers life I found it very well written and interesting。 During the first part of the book I think because of the hideous lengthy cancer treatments described and endured for a young person when illness is absolutely the last thing on their mind I let pass quite a few moments in the memoir that were pretty self centered in the choices she made。 I understand you want to live with your boyfriend and not your mum but to take Will's whole life for months or years and not come to any realization about how you’re behaving is a lot。 Added the privilege of having a NYC apartment to live in， a car to borrow for months， and driving round the country while admitting not really knowing how to drive safely。 And then not noting Will in the acknowledgments was stunning。 You’d think an illness at a young age would make a person grow up more quickly， but there was little self awareness here。 So 4 stars for great writing， but left a bad taste after。 Oh， and for her mum growing up in Switzerland in what， the 70's？ Its not a gramophone， just a record player。 。。。more
Maggie Sieleman-Ross
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Lovely， introspective， and brimming with hard-earned hope。 For anyone whose life has been rearranged by chronic or life-altering illness。
Wendy Dausett
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What an incredible woman。
Paige Willson
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Gut wrenching & heartbreaking to hear all that she went through。 Inspiring to hear all about her road trip。
Julian
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Super sad and heartwarming at the same time
Kimberly
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Definitely worth reading if you've had major illness in your family。 Definitely worth reading if you've had major illness in your family。 。。。more
Jacinthe Paille
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Excellent memoir！ It’s heartbreaking and full of hope， and allowed me to have a better understanding of what it is like to go through cancer treatment。 I don’t think anyone who hasn’t had cancer can fully grasp the physical and emotional toll it takes，but I feel like I understand it better after reading this book。
Lauren Domingo
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The journey of cancer treatment and post cancer treatment of an amazing young woman。
Lauren
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It didn’t actually take me a month to read this。。 but it did take me the better part of a week。。 due to my own trama in this area， I had to put the book down。。 pick it up。。 put it down。。 etc。 This book was so well written。 Such wonderful life lessons。 ❤️❤️❤️
Joanne
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This autobiography is very well written， especially for someone so young。 She’s a gifted writer and I look forward to her future books。
Sahara Vuong
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Cuốn hồi ký với ngôn từ đẹp đẽ và lắng đọng vô cùng。 Ngưỡng mộ tình cảm của Will dành cho Suleika và sự kiên cường của Suleika trước những biến cố của cuộc đời。
Hayley
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Between Two Kingdoms offers much wisdom about how beauty can come from the unexpected。 This book was a quick read， but was impactful in it's approach to tackle hard questions and concepts such as morality。 I liked this book， but I wish the focus was primarily on the road trip Suleika took instead of her medical journey。 I understand that encompassing her whole medical journey was necessary in order for readers to understand the troubles she went through to reach the wisdom accessed on her road t Between Two Kingdoms offers much wisdom about how beauty can come from the unexpected。 This book was a quick read， but was impactful in it's approach to tackle hard questions and concepts such as morality。 I liked this book， but I wish the focus was primarily on the road trip Suleika took instead of her medical journey。 I understand that encompassing her whole medical journey was necessary in order for readers to understand the troubles she went through to reach the wisdom accessed on her road trip， but it became monotonous。 I found myself wanting to know more about the road trip and the conversations she had with those along the way。 Additionally， I would have loved to know more about her life after the road trip。 However， I suppose that's what instagram is for。 。。。more
Karen。J。
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Between Two Kingdoms by Suleika Jaouad⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️This book is absolutely mind blowing， I finished reading it a week ago and my mind is still digesting it。 An amazing memoir of severe illness and the trials and tribulations towards a journey of recovery。Definitely one of the very best books I have read。
Stephanie
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My mother-in-law left this cancer narrative at our house and I avoided it because it sounded depressing。 It is certainly gutting in places but it is amazingly not depressing， because it is also full of joy， honesty， and determination。 I found Jaouad very endearing and started following her on Instagram， only to read that she had just learned that she needed another bone marrow transplant。 I am now among the many people rooting for her。
Jennifer
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Beautifully written， moving， and powerful。
Elina
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A beautifully written and well paced book， but it has some holes in the story and I think neglects to address how very privileged this author is， even given the amount of suffering she endured。
Chrisdee
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"Grief is a ghost that visits without warning。 It comes in the night and rips you from your sleep。 It fills your chest with shards of glass。 It interrupts you mid-laugh when you’re at a party， chastising you that， just for a moment， you’ve forgotten。 It haunts you until it becomes a part of you， shadowing you breath for breath。"This book is a memoir about Sulieka's life in her 20's as she battles leukemia。 She's such an excellent writer， you're quickly along for the ride in this memoir。 Her hone "Grief is a ghost that visits without warning。 It comes in the night and rips you from your sleep。 It fills your chest with shards of glass。 It interrupts you mid-laugh when you’re at a party， chastising you that， just for a moment， you’ve forgotten。 It haunts you until it becomes a part of you， shadowing you breath for breath。"This book is a memoir about Sulieka's life in her 20's as she battles leukemia。 She's such an excellent writer， you're quickly along for the ride in this memoir。 Her honesty about relationships during and after cancer were very insightful。 Really liked this book！ 。。。more
Traci Thomas
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I liked this book。 Jaouad is a great writer。 Her story was incredibly harrowing and she really shares that with the audience。 The book is considerably too long and spends too much time on her illness and her road trip （the second half） is very secondary though I found that part compelling and unique from other cancer memoirs。 It’s a very good book but went on too long。
Lisa Zach
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Very good book and very well written。
Aubri
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A heartfelt and engaging journey
Lindsay Clark
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This was a hard one for me。 I really like Jaouad， and especially appreciated her Isolation Journals project during the pandemic。 She’s a talented writer and I love that she reaches out to all sorts of people to bring their creative processes in to share。 But this book was rough。 Maybe all illness/recovery stories are like this， but I couldn’t get past how incredibly selfish a lot of her actions were， and how unfairly she and her family relied on a new boyfriend to care for her during cancer。 Her This was a hard one for me。 I really like Jaouad， and especially appreciated her Isolation Journals project during the pandemic。 She’s a talented writer and I love that she reaches out to all sorts of people to bring their creative processes in to share。 But this book was rough。 Maybe all illness/recovery stories are like this， but I couldn’t get past how incredibly selfish a lot of her actions were， and how unfairly she and her family relied on a new boyfriend to care for her during cancer。 Her experience was interesting to read about， but frankly made it hard to like her as a person。 The second half of the book is her travels around the country post-recovery， but I couldn’t get into that because of the first half of the book。 。。。more
Courtney
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I had a hard time with this memoir。 Stories of heroes should include personal growth but I wasn’t convinced of that in the end。 She’s a great writer and I had empathy for her during some of the first half - the first kingdom of illness。 I mean she’s 22 and diagnosed with leukemia。 But she comes from a place of privilege and treats those who care for her during the journey like her servants。 A Princess complex if there is such a thing？ There are some moments of self reflection but then she contin I had a hard time with this memoir。 Stories of heroes should include personal growth but I wasn’t convinced of that in the end。 She’s a great writer and I had empathy for her during some of the first half - the first kingdom of illness。 I mean she’s 22 and diagnosed with leukemia。 But she comes from a place of privilege and treats those who care for her during the journey like her servants。 A Princess complex if there is such a thing？ There are some moments of self reflection but then she continues to treat those around her with aloofness and distance。 I guess if I was stuck getting chemo treatments and a bone marrow transplant I’d be resentful at times and grouchy， but don’t bite the hand that feeds you。 Pluses: I learned A LOT about cancer in the first half of the book and what suffering patients go through。 Brights spots: her dog Oscar who takes the road trip with her， her selfless yet codependent boyfriend Will， her friends with cancer including tattooed fiery Melissa， her parents， a death row inmate she corresponds with and eventually visits。 Worth a read？ Yes， just be prepared to be annoyed - especially during the first half of the second kingdom。 Ending feels rushed to me and I would have liked more stories about the people she meets in her 100 day journey - which btw is in a Subaru not the yellow van on book cover （she buys that after the trip）。 。。。more
Juliana Chansky
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 There were so many moments throughout this book I could feel myself present in due to the strong writing。 It is really hard to believe this story isn’t fiction。 The author puts you in the place of a young person with a life threatening illness and created a different type of compassion for these people that I didn’t per se have before。 I was sad to find on her Instagram that her cancer had recently returned， but hopeful to see how strong her relationship with Jon had become。
Mel
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Wish I could give 4。5。 I really loved it。 So relatable and completely unimaginable at the same time。
Leora
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Inspiring， indomitable， all the usual adjectives about a cancer survivor， but multiplied by the fact that she's such a good writer。 And see if you can figure out who "Jon" is！ Inspiring， indomitable， all the usual adjectives about a cancer survivor， but multiplied by the fact that she's such a good writer。 And see if you can figure out who "Jon" is！ 。。。more
marthabush
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Living the life， cancer， living a more aware life
Mandie Weber Burns
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