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Keep Your Head Up: A Mother's Story of Chasing Joy in the Face of Grief
A testament to the depth of familial love and our ability to endure in the face of childhood terminal illness
Keep Your Head Up is the incredible tale of one family's path to perseverance in the face of devastating odds. When author Tasha Faruqui gave birth to her second daughter, Soraya, she knew immediately that something was wrong. Yet as years passed and every medical test for Soraya came back normal or inconclusive, Tasha began to realize that science doesn't always have the answers, and there are some issues in life that simply cannot be fixed. Yet, we can continue to find happy moments and celebrate the beauty of what we have.
This story gives a voice to parents and loved ones of terminally ill children, illuminating the way to comfort, community, and unbreakable hope. This book discusses terminal illness with raw honesty, demonstrating how families can provide transparency to life-limited children around a terminal diagnosis, comfort them when they are afraid of what comes next, and continue to embrace life despite ongoing challenges. With beautiful narration and a heartfelt perspective, Keep Your Head Up testifies to the true depth of familial love and the hard things we can endure with grace and resilience.
This
Provides guidance, hope, and understanding to parents and caregivers of terminally ill children Tells a story that will resonate with families facing elusive diagnoses, fickle healthcare systems, and emotional turmoil Offers hope that it is possible to find joy in the face of tragedy and give sick children the gift of a fully lived life Presents the balanced and relatable perspective of an award-winning pediatrician and parent to a child in hospice Parents, family, and friends of terminally ill children, as well as healthcare professionals and educators, will appreciate Keep Your Head Up for its candor and its value as a guide to moving through a situation no family should have to face.
Keep Your Head Up is the incredible tale of one family's path to perseverance in the face of devastating odds. When author Tasha Faruqui gave birth to her second daughter, Soraya, she knew immediately that something was wrong. Yet as years passed and every medical test for Soraya came back normal or inconclusive, Tasha began to realize that science doesn't always have the answers, and there are some issues in life that simply cannot be fixed. Yet, we can continue to find happy moments and celebrate the beauty of what we have.
This story gives a voice to parents and loved ones of terminally ill children, illuminating the way to comfort, community, and unbreakable hope. This book discusses terminal illness with raw honesty, demonstrating how families can provide transparency to life-limited children around a terminal diagnosis, comfort them when they are afraid of what comes next, and continue to embrace life despite ongoing challenges. With beautiful narration and a heartfelt perspective, Keep Your Head Up testifies to the true depth of familial love and the hard things we can endure with grace and resilience.
This
Provides guidance, hope, and understanding to parents and caregivers of terminally ill children Tells a story that will resonate with families facing elusive diagnoses, fickle healthcare systems, and emotional turmoil Offers hope that it is possible to find joy in the face of tragedy and give sick children the gift of a fully lived life Presents the balanced and relatable perspective of an award-winning pediatrician and parent to a child in hospice Parents, family, and friends of terminally ill children, as well as healthcare professionals and educators, will appreciate Keep Your Head Up for its candor and its value as a guide to moving through a situation no family should have to face.
- GenresMedicine
272 pages, Hardcover
Published September 16, 2025
7 people are currently reading
42 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
September 22, 2025
The author, Tasha, is a friend of mine. I thought I knew her story… turns out I only knew a small part of it. I learned so much about how to be a better wife, mother, friend, nurse practitioner, and HUMAN through reading this. The story of her life and daughter’s living legacy continue to inspire me ❤️
October 25, 2025
A personal memoir about a mother (pediatrician) with a husband (adult doctor), and 3 kids- one facing a lot of medical mysteries and dealing with the horrid medical system held together by Andy Grammar’s music, hope, and community rallying over Soraya and wishing her the best life imaginable. I related to this book as I’m a medical mystery and battle a lot of the same conditions as Soraya (I have a GJ-tube and mitochondrial disease amongst other things affecting my muscles and mobility) I love how at the end of each chapter there were takeaways in the moments of struggle and always lessons learned from each step of the way and how it was always pointed out that joy and grief can coexist (for example, the Make-a-Wish trip to Hawaii and Soraya’s surf lesson). The family was grieving over Soraya’s progressing condition but feeling immense joy watching her live life in spite of the odds of these diseases (most unbeknownst to the doctors). I was kindly gifted and given a personalized copy that I will cherish forever. What a gift it is to have read this family’s story and receive this book <3
September 29, 2025
A beautiful story about life about all the things that accompany it, even the sucky parts. I giggled, cried and related all the way through!
September 5, 2025
Advanced Reader Copy. This book is a very personal story in a very personal space - anticipatory grief. Worth reading.
December 2, 2025
Loved it! Tasha and her family’s journey through life is not a straightforward one and the amount of resilience in one family is truly inspiring.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews