Flying Without Wings

Flying without wings is inspired by my experience as a  volunteer in a cancer hospital. I met children who, despite being  strung by the constraints of cancer, still remained positive and
made the best out of their situation. I was awe-struck by their  resilience; I felt like they were flying even though cancer had  clipped off their wings . thus the title.
As a child I always dreamed of writing a book. A dream which  hadn’t materialised until now. When it came to choosing my final  MYP project I was certain that I wanted to write a book.
I felt strongly about chronic and terminal diseases, because  many of the people around me were subject to diseases like  Cancer, Autoimmune diseases, etc. I saw that they not only
suffered as they battled with the disease, but also struggled to get  other people to understand what they were going through. As a  result I decided to narrate the story of a young girl going through a  disease. I wanted to show the physical and emotional turmoil that  a patient goes through, in the hope that we can better understand  how it feels to be in their shoes, and as a result be able to help and  support them better.  The process of writing this book has been a milestone for me . This book took me on an exhilarating journey from understanding  the dynamics of writing to an exhaustive research on the subject  matter. It was a truly enjoyable learning experience. Having the  constraint of a deadline was the only limiting factor while I wrote.  Otherwise it was a thrilling roller coaster ride.  Time for acknowledgements. I would like to thank some people, who made this book possible. The first person I would  like to thank is Mr Mohsin Hamid for taking time out and  patiently answering my questions. Being an amateur writer I was  clueless regarding the art of novel writing. Your guidance helped  me understand the dynamics of writing a book and assisted me  throughout the writing process. I would like to take this opportunity  to thank Ms Saima at Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital for  giving me a chance to be part of their summer volunteer program.  I would like to acknowledge Mr Musharraf Ali Farooqi and  Ms Sidra F. Sheikh for helping me understand the publishing  process. Their guidance is much appreciated. Also, I would like  to thank my Project Supervisor, Mrs Jane Barnes for her constant  guidance and words of encouragement throughout these last few  months. And also for editing and proofreading my work. Lastly, I  would like to thank my mother who constantly provided support  and pushed me to do more each and every day. Writing a book  can be really disheartening when you face a writer’s block or  fail to meet deadlines. My mom motivated me to overcome such  challenges. .  Living in Lahore, I felt it was appropriate to set the story III  my home town where Cancer is a real problem due to the dearth  of specialized hospitals for cancer treatment. I hope that you as a  reader enjoy this story and are able to connect with the characters  the way I did while writing this book. Happy Reading!

ZM