Between Two Kingdoms

What Almost Dying Taught Me About Living

By: Suleika Jaouad

Narrated by: Suleika Jaouad

Brought to you by Penguin.

We all face moments that bring us to our knees: heartbreak, trauma, illness. When things don't go to plan this is the book to reach for - an inspirational memoir about what the struggle to survive teaches us about how to live.

At just 22, on the cusp of adult life, Suleika Jaouad was diagnosed with leukaemia and given a 35 per cent chance of survival. For the next five years, her world comprised four white walls, a hospital bed, fluorescent lights, tubes and wires. She became patient 5624. At 27, and celebrating her first year of remission, Suleika realised that, having survived, she now had no idea how to live. And so she set out to meet some of the many strangers who had written to her about their experiences of life, death, healing and recovery in response to her Emmy-Award winning New York Times column, 'Life Interrupted'. Between Two Kingdoms is the result. Drawing on Suleika's TED Talk, now with 2.8 million views, it illuminates universal questions about how we live, mourn, heal and grow up, and what it means to begin again.

©2021 Suleika Jaouad (P)2021 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"'A propulsive, soulful story of mourning and gratitude - and an intimate portrait of one woman's sojourn in the wilderness between life and death." (Tara Westover, author of Educated)

"A deeply touching account of learning to live in the now, because nothing else is promised. I loved it." (Kathryn Mannix, author of With the End in Mind)

"Changing the conversation about what it means to thrive in the wake of illness and life's unexpected interruptions." (TED)