In April 2, 2022, almost 20 months after the Beirut Port Blast (August 4, 2020) which devastated Lebanon’s capital, Beirut, at “Aaliya’s Books” coffee shop there was a book launching “Delia; A Survivor’s Story” written by Ariana Papazian who lost her mother, Delia in the explosion.

Aaliya’s Books was one of the intellectual coffee shops located at cosmopolitan Gemmayzeh Street, not far from the Port which was heavily damaged from the blast. After the blast, the neighborhood turned into a ghost city. The Beirut Port Blast killed more than 200 people and left thousands injured and around 300,000 people homeless. The trauma aftermath of the blast still haunts the residents of Beirut and the Lebanese people. The Lebanese state was secretly hiding 2,750 tons of highly explosive ammonium nitrate that had been stored for years at a depot at the port. Due to political pressure and the sectarian structure of the country, the judicial process is being politicized and has turned into a political bazaar between different major political parties.

Around 4 pm I entered the coffee shop and saw many people were buying the book, reading, and discussing with each other. On the table, a young girl was signing the book surrounded by her friends, classmates, and relatives. Ariana’s father Khajak greeted and approached me and introduced me to her to sign the book. I couldn’t wait to go back home and went to a nearby coffee shop and started reading the book.

The book is full of traumas, memories, and emotions. As I turned each page, my eyes used to sink in oceans of tears. This emotional book highlights a story of dealing with trauma, grief, the loss of a dear mother, and finally how Ariana finds solace and healing through writing about her experiences, in her honest and direct style. Ariana writes about her family story and how her parents and especially her mother who had a very strong bond with her, shaped her way of life and thinking. She highlights the role of the family as a key foundation in Lebanon.

Arina shares with the readers her memories with her mother. There was a special bond between them that transpassed the mother-daughter relationship. Both were like close friends who used to share stories and concerns with each other. Her mother used to tell her that having excellent school grades was not enough to have a successful and bright future. The experience was much needed. Hence, each one of us must enjoy his/her life since sometimes experiences are much more valuable to societies’ eyes than a school report card.

For Ariana, her mother made a mission in her life to never allow anyone to drown in their misery or problems without imagining solutions or giving motivation.

Throughout the book, Ariana explains to us the importance of friendship and how her friends provided her emotional support in times of necessity. She quotes: “A (best) friend is someone who overlooks your broken fence and admires the flowers in your garden”. She explains how her friends always overlooked her darkest fences and focused on her inner goodness. They never felt pity for her, instead, they smiled and took her mind away from her traumatic experiences.

She ends the book with a letter to her mother, she writes “…despite everything I have been through, the most valuable lesson I have learned is to be grateful for the life you gave me. I also made a life promise to you; to live my life the best way I can, the way you wished for me to live it and to be happy…”

For the young brave author, despite her life being “messy and confusing”, it was also unique, incredible, and inspiring for many of us. Ariana teaches us that in our life we die once, but we live everyday.

Yeghia Tashjian