Triple Negative: A tale of love, faith and surrender
Within hours of losing her mother Aarti discovered she had cancer. Triple Negative: A tale of love, faith and surrender, is a memoir that chronicles two years of her life—from the time she lost her mother, got diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer, underwent treatment, to the year that followed as she regained her mind, body and life. Even so, the book is not a memoir of illness or grief. It is a simple, unfiltered, profoundly personal, honest account of love, loss and the peace that followssurrender.
Aarti underwent a seven-month-long treatment involving surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation as shegrappled with the grief of losing her oldest relationship, her mother. Through her treatment, she journaled herexperiences, both physically and emotionally and those notes eventually transformed into the memoir, allowing her to tell her story in real time. The experience was intense. It had the power to break her in mind and body. The grief of losing her mother was overwhelming.
The thought of having to leave her young children and husband behind was too frightening to contemplate. The physical pain and discomfort were intense; every muscle, bone and joint ached agonisingly. The loss of hair shook her confidence. By the end of treatment, she had to build herself breath by breath, cell by cell. But a host of things held her together from the beginning.
She got strength from her devatas, who wouldn’t let hercollapse. She found inner calmness through early morning pranayama. Ayurveda helped fight the toxicity of the treatment. Yoga helped her rebuild her body.Humour kept things real. Intimate conversations with her husband and his unwavering support gave her the strength and clarity to keep fighting.
As mentioned earlier, this book is not about cancer. It’s not about grief either. It is about a mix of life’s inevitable trials and the quiet strength that carries us through them, the invisible hands that guide us and the divinity that reveals itself in our darkest times. It is about the futility of worry and fear, the joy of surrender, the luxury that love is and the superpowers that faith bestows.
