Francy's New Morning

A stunning and inspiring biography Have you ever read a biography and felt the author became a friend you’d like to meet in person? Dima Ghawi is the author I’d like to meet.  In Breaking Vases , Dima writes about her life growing up in the Middle East in an upper middle-class home under continuous oppression as a female in her country. Reading about her life was an eye-opening experience, transporting me to a place I have only seen in movies. The vivid details she weaves throughout her book are captivating, painting a clear picture of the culture she lived.   Her writing is both poetic and honest, including her worst experiences and her happiest memories. Dima does not attack her family and culture. She suffered, and doesn’t hide what she felt, but she also remembers and shares what she did love. She persevered and overcame horrendous challenges while remaining kind and optimistic. She inspires the reader to hope and follow dreams for a better life. 

Andrew, our second oldest, at age three,  when he wore overalls and slept in his racecar bed Let me tell you, this was a dark and stormy night, of another kind.   Sitting across from my three-year-old son at the dinner table, I tilted my head, like our Yorkie when she is trying to understand what we’re saying. “Does Andrew look a little green?” I asked my husband.   He glanced up from his pasta. “He looks fine. If he was sick, he wouldn’t have eaten his dinner.”   The plate still had a mound of squiggly noodles, his favorite. He ate about half.   His five-year-old brother, Stephen, continued his car noises in between mouthfuls. He looked fine. Sounded fine.   “Andrew, do you feel ok?”   “My tummy hurts.” He scrunched his little nose and pushed the plate away as if it were his enemy or a serving of his most hated vegetable, broccoli.   Pale skin with a green hue isn’t cute, especially on a three-year-old. By now I knew what was coming. You know what’s