Nadeem’s Journey: A Heart Wrenching Story of a Loving Mother Losing Her Son to Cancer by Sherine Anniruth is a reminder of how life can change in the blink of an eye. This is the story of Nadeem Rajah who passed away at the age of 25, but it is also the story of how his death affected the people who loved him the most. Written by Sherine, the mother of Nadeem, the story takes readers on a journey where they get to know Nadeem in various stages of his life. From his childhood to adulthood and then to his diagnosis, readers meet a brilliant man and his life cut short. However, you get to experience Nadeem’s life through his mother’s eyes. Sherine pours her heart out in the simplest yet most impactful way to make you cherish Nadeem just as much as she did.

Nadeem’s Journey is excruciatingly simple yet very emotional at the same. I love how Sherine Anniruth starts the story with her pregnancy and takes readers on a walk down memory lane with her. She shares the happiest as well as the toughest times of her life. You can tell that Nadeem was the center of everything for her, and his death left a massive hole in her life. The narrative feels like reading someone’s diary and getting a first-hand look into someone’s private thoughts. It all feels personal and chokes you up. You feel proud when Nadeem becomes captain of his school’s cricket team, feel her pain when Nadeem is diagnosed with cancer, and feel her losing her hope with every doctor’s visit. She never takes anything for granted, even when it was the tiniest of things in Nadeem’s life, and I am glad she did. Writing a book in honor of Nadeem is such a great way to celebrate his life!

Nadeem's Journey is a touching memoir by Sherine Anniruth relating the experiences of her son Nadeem Rajah's battle with a terminal illness and its impact on their lives. At the age of twenty-two, Sherine gave birth to a healthy boy named Nadeem. Her sisters and neighbors helped her take care of him during his formative years while she worked at the Richmond Chest Hospital in South Africa as a registered nurse. As the years pass by, Sherine forms a family with a man named Vinash, with whom she has two other children, Darshan and Sadhana. When Nadeem was thirteen, the family moves to Australia, and after a period of acclimatization, he distinguishes himself amongst his peers in sports and academics. However, the devastating diagnosis of cancer changes their lives forever.

Heartbreaking, poignant, and powerful, Nadeem's Journey showcases the fleeting nature of life and how unexpected tragedies sometimes switch the trajectory of people's paths. Author Sherine Anniruth tells the heartrending true story of her talented son who fell victim to cancer at a young age; twenty-five. Anniruth's tale provides a keen insight into the lives of families who have their loved ones taken away from them before their time. It speaks volumes about the inner strength of people who suffer terminal illnesses as well as their loved ones who sit by their side until the end. Nadeem's Journey is a tribute to the resilient spirit of human beings. Anyone who has ever lost a loved one will find it immensely relatable. Highly recommended.