Book Review: Breaking Vases by Dima Ghawi

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.

Dima Ghawi was the winner of the 2018 Writer’s Digest Self Published Book Contest and fully deserves the prize. Not only would I like to meet this amazing, accomplished woman, I would love to read her future works.

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(The house I grew up in, where my creative life began.) Since graduating from the Fashion Institute of Technology with a major in fashion design and illustration, I have had many interesting jobs. I painted the faces on mannequins; had freelance art jobs that nearly gave me a nervous breakdown meeting the deadlines; I tried to make stuffed clown patterns (a total fail); did magazine layouts for Bridal Guide Magazine while preparing my own wedding; worked as a house manager for a group home; became a homeschool mom for my five kiddos; worked as a medical records coordinator; and found my passion as an author and illustrator, writing novels and picture books. Now I also sell art prints in my Etsy store. I love sketching, playing with colors and textures, and creating beautiful artwork, sometimes more realistic, sometimes more stylized like in my children's book illustrations. I'm obsessed with drawing birds. The endless variety reminds me of God's love in all he created. Hol...

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