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After battling depression for years, Bahraini Fadhel Abbas has shared his struggle and recovery by penning his pain and healing in poetry, writes Mai Al Khatib-Camille.
The 23-year-old - a student of history at the College of Arts, Department of Social Sciences, University of Bahrain - spent the last two years putting together the 116-page Arabic book, translated as ‘Crows on a Statue’.
“Over two years I dealt with the loss of two people in my life and one birth while also struggling with the feeling of emptiness,” said Fadhel who lives in Al Malkiyah and minors in psychology.
“I was absorbed by sadness and I put all these emotions in my poetry.”
Often in different cultures around the world, crows or ravens symbolise bad luck, loss or ill omens because of its black plumage and croaking call. In Fadhel’s book, the crow symbolises self-reflection and mental anguish, while the statue represents his inability to move forward.
“The idol is the rigid state of mind and soul, while crows are those questions that have afflicted and disturbed me, urging me to move on and join the living,” said Fadhel.
“I hope my experience will help the reader find him or herself.”
The book, launched by Austin Macaulay Publishers, can also be found on Amazon and on other e-book sites such as Goodreads, where it has already received a 4.3 star rating.
For details, visit @ifaziil on Instagram.
