Arifa Akbar’s sister Fauzia died in 2016 from tuberculosis. Fauzia experienced night sweats, her lungs hurt, and her face began to swell; despite these signs the doctors at The Royal Free Hospital in London were baffled and she died of a brain haemorrhage. In Arifa’s stunning memoir ‘Consumed’ she investigates how a leading hospital could have missed this ancient but curable disease. Here, Arifa discusses her and Fauzia’s complicated love for one another, from best friends in their teens to years of estrangement. The sisters were pitted against each other and, whilst Arifa was her Father’s favourite, Fauzia had a totally different childhood under the same roof, experiencing emotional cruelty from their Dad. Arifa is brutally honest about the impact that this childhood trauma and Fauzia’s paralysing depression and eating disorder had on them, pulling them apart for years. PAGE 112 looks at how the mistrust had set in but how, ultimately, the sisters were reconciled and all the guilt, rage and pain fell away as Arifa dashed to A&E to be by her sister’s side. This is a deep discussion about the roles parents ascribe to their kids, how families create their own mythologies and how sibling misunderstandings can become so muddy it’s hard to see who started the argument and what it’s even about.
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Abby on Twitter and Instagram - @AbbyHollick
Arifa on Twitter - @Arifa_Akbar
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Consumed - https://uk.bookshop.org/books/consumed-in-search-of-my-sister-shortlisted-for-the-costa-biography-award-2021/9781529347555
NHS supportive links for Tuberculosis, Eating disorders and Depression:
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/tuberculosis-tb/
https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/feelings-symptoms-behaviours/behaviours/eating-disorders/overview/
https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/conditions/depression/
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Page is hosted and produced by Abby Hollick for Good Tape. To contact us, email abby@goodtape.org
Sound Engineers: Hunter Charlton and Chris Sharp
Original Music: Paddy Gervers and Rob Sell for Torch and Compass
Graphic Designer: Tim Hughes
Web Support: Daniel Benoliel
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Arifa Akbar’s sister Fauzia died in 2016 from tuberculosis. Fauzia experienced night sweats, her lungs hurt, and her face began to swell; despite these signs the doctors at The Royal Free Hospital in London were baffled and she died of a brain haemorrhage. In Arifa’s stunning memoir ‘Consumed’ she investigates how a leading hospital could have missed this ancient but curable disease. Here, Arifa discusses her and Fauzia’s complicated love for one another, from best friends in their teens to years of estrangement. The sisters were pitted against each other and, whilst Arifa was her Father’s favourite, Fauzia had a totally different childhood under the same roof, experiencing emotional cruelty from their Dad. Arifa is brutally honest about the impact that this childhood trauma and Fauzia’s paralysing depression and eating disorder had on them, pulling them apart for years. PAGE 112 looks at how the mistrust had set in but how, ultimately, the sisters were reconciled and all the guilt, rage and pain fell away as Arifa dashed to A&E to be by her sister’s side. This is a deep discussion about the roles parents ascribe to their kids, how families create their own mythologies and how sibling misunderstandings can become so muddy it’s hard to see who started the argument and what it’s even about.
---
Abby on Twitter and Instagram - @AbbyHollick
Arifa on Twitter - @Arifa_Akbar
---
Consumed - https://uk.bookshop.org/books/consumed-in-search-of-my-sister-shortlisted-for-the-costa-biography-award-2021/9781529347555
NHS supportive links for Tuberculosis, Eating disorders and Depression:
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/tuberculosis-tb/
https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/feelings-symptoms-behaviours/behaviours/eating-disorders/overview/
https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/conditions/depression/
---
Page is hosted and produced by Abby Hollick for Good Tape. To contact us, email abby@goodtape.org
Sound Engineers: Hunter Charlton and Chris Sharp
Original Music: Paddy Gervers and Rob Sell for Torch and Compass
Graphic Designer: Tim Hughes
Web Support: Daniel Benoliel
TW// Discussion of depression and isolation.//
I can honestly say that Rhik Samadder’s best-selling memoir, ‘I Never Said I loved You’, is one of my favourite books. It manages to look at the human condition and make you cry and belly laugh in the same chapter. Rhik is a Guardian journalist who attracts a cult following with his column ‘Rhik Samadder Tries Something new’ and who can forget his ‘Inspect A Gadget’ column, with its notorious review of The Egg Master?
Rhik breaks down PAGE 194 of his exceptional memoir, which explores masculinity, mental illness, surviving child abuse and sees Rhik set off on the ultimate quest to discover where his depression came from. In this episode, Rhik examines loneliness, and why it’s true vulnerability to tell someone you feel lonely. We discuss heartbreak, grief and pandemic isolation and how in real life loneliness is a lot less romantic than it looks in the movies. I’m floored by Rhik’s willingness to look at his own experiences of true loneliness, to find the buried treasures in it, and to share what helped him come through this bleak time. I love listening to him because he offers us hope and shows us that uncomfortable feelings won't last forever. Seriously, read his book!
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Social Media
Abby on Twitter and Instagram - @AbbyHollick
Rhik on Twitter and Instagram – @whatsamadder
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Links
Rhik’s book, I Never Said I Loved You - https://uk.bookshop.org/books/i-never-said-i-loved-you-the-sunday-times-bestseller/9781472250704
NHS Advice on loneliness - https://www.nhs.uk/every-mind-matters/lifes-challenges/loneliness/
NHS Advice on depression - https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/self-help/tips-and-support/cope-with-depression/
Samaritans - https://www.samaritans.org
Page
Arifa Akbar’s sister Fauzia died in 2016 from tuberculosis. Fauzia experienced night sweats, her lungs hurt, and her face began to swell; despite these signs the doctors at The Royal Free Hospital in London were baffled and she died of a brain haemorrhage. In Arifa’s stunning memoir ‘Consumed’ she investigates how a leading hospital could have missed this ancient but curable disease. Here, Arifa discusses her and Fauzia’s complicated love for one another, from best friends in their teens to years of estrangement. The sisters were pitted against each other and, whilst Arifa was her Father’s favourite, Fauzia had a totally different childhood under the same roof, experiencing emotional cruelty from their Dad. Arifa is brutally honest about the impact that this childhood trauma and Fauzia’s paralysing depression and eating disorder had on them, pulling them apart for years. PAGE 112 looks at how the mistrust had set in but how, ultimately, the sisters were reconciled and all the guilt, rage and pain fell away as Arifa dashed to A&E to be by her sister’s side. This is a deep discussion about the roles parents ascribe to their kids, how families create their own mythologies and how sibling misunderstandings can become so muddy it’s hard to see who started the argument and what it’s even about.
---
Abby on Twitter and Instagram - @AbbyHollick
Arifa on Twitter - @Arifa_Akbar
---
Consumed - https://uk.bookshop.org/books/consumed-in-search-of-my-sister-shortlisted-for-the-costa-biography-award-2021/9781529347555
NHS supportive links for Tuberculosis, Eating disorders and Depression:
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/tuberculosis-tb/
https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/feelings-symptoms-behaviours/behaviours/eating-disorders/overview/
https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/conditions/depression/
---
Page is hosted and produced by Abby Hollick for Good Tape. To contact us, email abby@goodtape.org
Sound Engineers: Hunter Charlton and Chris Sharp
Original Music: Paddy Gervers and Rob Sell for Torch and Compass
Graphic Designer: Tim Hughes
Web Support: Daniel Benoliel
