Mahdi Essam

About the author:

When it became time for me to write my author blurb, I wondered if readers truly care about this section about the author. I asked myself if I should truly write about myself here. Here is the thing, this book is not about me at all.  

But I will try my best to write what one of the characters in the book might write about it’s author if you care about this introductory section before diving into the book.

Full of awakening from slumber in an attempt to cling uncontrollably to reality...which principal is that, where everyone is living in delusion while he’s trying to find stability and achieve it!

An actual person said about me: “he never married and does not have kids through adoption, but he is a father in every sense of the word, a true father!”

How I love my friend and, I guess in this context, my son.

And that’s all there is to me; a childless father and a writer trying to find stability in this novel. Now we move on to the more important questions that no one dares to ask but it is the first thing that comes up in each and every one of your minds whoever you are!

“Why should I listen to you specifically?”

To me, this is the most important question. Why should you listen to this book on a shelf along with hundreds of other books surrounding it? Why should you own it, focus your attention on it and dedicate some of your time to look at it? Let’s be honest here…

In reality, the approach I’m using is not a medical one; I am only sharing my experience living with this disorder. I won’t waste your time with definitions and explanations that could turn this into a lecture. No, no. I will try to make you understand this disorder through living with it. Although, there are many various behaviors that people with obsessive compulsive disorders and schizophrenia exhibit, I reassure you that this is not a medical book and I won’t use the Arabic proverb that translates to “Seek advice from someone who had a similar experience, and don't ask the doctor” as I am more than just someone with “experience” and anyway, it is a cliché phrase. As I mentioned earlier, I lived with this disorder and produced this book for you! You will discover how a person living with OCD and schizophrenia thinks and views things all around him, and you will breathe in the same air as he does as you will realize that such people exist and not only that, but they exist all around you and how would you treat them? 

And, of course, you are aware that people suffer from such disorders, it is nothing new that they are everywhere! But, the bottom line is that they’re not just people with chronic illnesses; they are brothers, sisters, cousins, fathers and mothers to some people. They have proved their existence and left their mark, which you can feel through this journey that you will go through with the heroine of this book. That is the reason why you should listen carefully.

Do you know the saying “Children and fools tell the truth”? I will give you a real view into the true meaning of insanity in a completely fictional journey but at the same time, it will be a reflection of everything real. In the moment that you are lost between delusions that have a shadow of truth, in the end, you will discover that maybe there isn’t that big of a difference between you and them, at least not in the way you expect…

For example, do you think that you actually own yourself? What I mean is, do you think that you truly have choices and an opinion you pride yourself on and that you say it out loud? Do you truly think that you know yourself? If I asked you a simple question like “talk to me about yourself and your passions”, would you actually have an answer? This book will let you discover that we are all sick! The only sane person might be the wise one who told us from the beginning to take the truth from him; another insane person telling you to listen. This is the true meaning of the saying and this is what you will discover in the book.

 “What will I get when I read your book? What will I gain?”

This is the second most important question that matters to everyone except those who only buy a book to photograph it next to a cup of coffee! Let’s be honest here.

As the famous saying goes “the world does not revolve around you”, but I will make you go around and around yourself so you’ll realize that you’re twirling around, with and about yourself as much as you like. You will see reflections of yourself in between the pages and the real questions would be…what exactly are you seeing?! I hope you like it anyway, because I like the way you’re holding the book now and the way you’re looking at it now, which I hope is not judgmental. Shall we begin?