The days of books and madness …

Being alone is not so scary. Initially, you look around, conceal yourself behind the thickest woods without knowing the snakes on it and as you realize, you run farthest through every moment you scared. I may sound cynical, dramatic and weird. But, it’s true. Later, as you walk forward, you accept the dangers in front of you, still would manage to look fearless.

The days have been tough for me, yet vibrant that I learned to walk alone more sternly than ever. ‘Mayada: Daughter of Iraq: One Woman's Survival under Saddam Hussein’ kept me occupied this week. The pretty eyes hidden behind the veil displayed on the cover page was purely the reason why I picked up the book. Till then, I was unaware of the writer Jean Sasson, nor about Mayada Al-Askari.

The biography of Mayada, once a journalist and her unexpected life in cell no. 52, in the infamous Baladiyat prison, was indeed difficult to read. Sometimes I kept the book down without able to digest the cruelties human beings are able to do to their fellow beings.

I could sense the deepest wounds of the people lived under Saddam Hussein’s rein. The royalty, the administration and the poverty filled the pages, offering any reader a fabulous read. At times, I had to reluctantly keep the book away, but I ensured I came back to it sooner than expected. It kept me occupied, it kept me entangled to the pains of unknown people.

This is the best thing I love about books. They introduce us to things which I have never been through, render us the emotions we never felt. Moving to the next book soon...