Saadia Faruqi, a prolific Pakistani American author, explores mental illness for the first time in her latest book, The Strongest Heart. It tells the story of Mo, an eighth grader grappling with his father's schizophrenia. This personal narrative is derived from Faruqi's own childhood experiences in Karachi, where she faced uncertainty due to her father's untreated mental health issues. With the aim of providing understanding and comfort to young readers in similar situations, the book has been well-received, including positive reviews from Kirkus Review, which praised its realistic portrayal.
It was frightening. I never knew which dad I was going to get. When I walked into the house from school, I dreaded going inside because I didn't know whether he was going to be angry or loving.
This is the first time I've written a book that completely revolves around mental illness and the repercussions it has on family life, especially on kids.
The portrayal of serious mental illness and the complex emotions of a child whose parent suffers from it are realistic, eye-opening and moving.
She hopes The Strongest Heart, geared toward middle schoolers, can offer comfort and strength to young people who live with someone with mental illness at home.
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