An Excerpt from my 3-part performance at the Somali Diaspora Conference 2021. I strive to encourage my people to always talk through their problems, to be more vulnerable, to do the hard work of healing themselves and each other… with compassion. I was grateful to table at the vendors’ area at the Conference, so that more of my people can get their hands on my book. A book I wrote for myself, but by extension, for them. Because I am nothing without my people, my culture, my faith. Though it’s been difficult living life as an undiagnosed autistic man within that community, and though I’ve struggled with addiction & mental health, I still love my people. I just haven’t known how to express that love in a way they could accept. This world hates us and it makes us hate ourselves. But we must continue to find hope within and for one another. I wrote this book for every young Somali person struggling with addiction, with being understood. I wrote this to show my people that hope is never lost, and that anything is possible — so long as one is grounded in faith, in culture, in a desire to survive no matter what.
Pray for Ease // Write & Breathe
