Farzana Doctor

A practical guide to self-care and community care, written for helpers--the caregivers, activists, community leaders, mental health and medical professionals who are the first to help others, but the last to seek help themselves.As an activist, community organizer and social worker, Farzana Doctor has preached self-care to hundreds of people struggling with burnout and exhaustion. But for years she couldn't manage to take her own advice.Many other helpers she knew were the same: they knew the signs of burnout, and they understood the science of self-care. Maybe they'd taken workshops on vicarious trauma; maybe they'd even taught them. But still they struggled to escape the cycle of overwork, overwhelm and recovery. 52 Weeks to a Sweeter Life is a workbook that speaks directly to these people--and anyone who struggles to pause, set boundaries and centre their own needs.The workbook contains fifty-two lessons, one for each week of the year. Each week, readers will find a simple new idea and an experiment for trying it out, with deeper dives into the material provided, but every level of participation celebrated. Throughout, Doctor embraces both community care and self-care at the same time, showing readers the overlap between the two.Beautifully written, direct and insightful, this workbook is a gentle and practical guide to a more balanced life, written for those who need it most.

FINALIST FOR THE 2021 TRILLIUM AWARD - FINALIST FOR THE 2021 EVERGREEN AWARD - AN INDIGO BEST BOOK OF 2020 - A GLOBE AND MAIL BEST INDEPENDENT READ FOR FALL 2020 - AN APPLE BOOKS BEST BOOK OF 2020 - A CBC BOOKS BEST CANADIAN FICTION BOOK OF 2020 - A NOW MAGAZINE TOP TEN BOOK OF 2020 Be prepared for this novel to stay with you for a long time, especially its ending.--GLOBE AND MAIL An] extraordinary book... packed with discovery and jarring emotional arcs.--TORONTO STAR Penetrating and subtle ... An] immersive, absorbing portrait.--EDEN ROBINSON Explores with courage and storytelling finesse the harsh truths within the ideals of kinship and community. --DAVID CHARIANDY An urgent and passionate read. --VIVEK SHRAYA Visceral and emotional... a courageous feat.--QUILL & QUIRE (starred review) A brave, soulfully written feminist novel about inheritance and resistance that tests the balance between kinship and the fight against customs that harm us. When Sharifa accompanies her husband on a marriage-saving trip to India in 2016, she thinks that she's going to research her great-great-grandfather, a wealthy business leader and philanthropist. What captures her imagination is not his rags-to-riches story, but the mystery of his four wives, missing from the family lore. She ends up excavating much more than she had imagined. Sharifa's trip coincides with a time of unrest within her insular and conservative religious community, and there is no escaping its politics. A group of feminists is speaking out against khatna, an age-old ritual they insist is female genital cutting. Sharifa's two favourite cousins are on opposite sides of the debate and she seeks a middle ground. As the issue heats up, Sharifa discovers an unexpected truth and is forced to take a position.

A story about one all-inclusive resort, the ghost of an unknown father, and the tragedies we can’t forget.What’s it like when everyone’s dream vacation is your job? Ameera works at a Mexican all-inclusive resort, where every day is paradise — if “paradise” means endless paperwork, quotas to meet, and entitled tourists. But it’s not all bad: Ameera’s pastime of choice is the swingers scene, and the resort is the perfect place to hook up with like-minded couples without all the hassle of having to see them again.Despite Ameera’s best efforts to keep her sideline a secret, someone is spreading scandalous rumours about her around the resort, and her job might be at stake. Meanwhile, she’s being plagued by her other secret, the big unknown of her existence: the identity of her father and why he disappeared. Unbeknownst to Ameera, her father, Azeez, is looking for her, and they both must come to terms with the reason why he abandoned her.A moving new work from award-winning author Farzana Doctor, All Inclusive blurs the lines between the real world and paradise, and life and death, and reminds us that love is neither easily lost nor found. Now Magazine Best Author • Kobo Best Book of the Year — Canadian Favourites Category

Ismail Boxwala made the worst mistake of his life one summer morning twenty years ago: he forgot his baby daughter in the back seat of his car. Now, after his daughter s tragic death, he struggles to continue living. A divorce, years of heavy drinking, and sex with strangers only leave him more alone and isolated. But Ismail s story begins to change after he reluctantly befriends two women: Fatima, a young queer activist kicked out of her parents home, and Celia, his grieving Portuguese-Canadian neighbour who lives just six meters away. While a slow-simmering romance develops between Ismail and Celia, dangers lead Fatima to his doorstep. Each woman makes complicated demands of him, ones he is uncertain that he can meet.

Winner of the 2012 LAMBDA Literary Award for Best Lesbian Fiction and of the 2011 Rainbow Awards Ismail Boxwala made the worst mistake of his life one summer morning twenty years ago: he forgot his baby daughter in the back seat of his car. After his daughter’s tragic death, he struggles to continue living. A divorce, years of heavy drinking, and sex with strangers only leave him more alone and isolated. But Ismail’s story begins to change after he reluctantly befriends two women: Fatima, a young queer activist kicked out of her parents’ home; and Celia, his grieving Portuguese-Canadian neighbour who lives just six metres away. A slow-simmering romance develops between Ismail and Celia. Meanwhile, dangers lead Fatima to his doorstep. Each makes complicated demands of him, ones he is uncertain he can meet.