In this episode, Maryanne Haggerty sits down with her lifelong friend of over 20 years, Manal Suleiman Shurafa — a pharmacist, a Palestinian American, a mother of two, and the author of When Hard Lilies Cry, a memoir chronicling her 26-year journey battling two cancers and preventing two more. Manal opens with a truth that reframes the entire premise of this show: nobody chooses to be unbreakable. Life makes you that way. And resilience, she argues, is born from softness — soft enough to hug your children, strong enough to survive their rejection. Like the lily on her book’s cover: delicate to look at, giving its beauty away freely, and yet strong enough that even when it dries and the petals turn transparent, it endures. Listeners will hear about: * Why she titled her memoir When Hard Lilies Cry — and what lilies taught her about women, strength, and giving * The hardest moment of her diagnosis: telling her sons, then eight and five, and watching them break in front of her * Catching her children standing in her doorway at night, checking to see if she was still breathing * The “characters” she developed to survive — the mother, the patient, the wife, the woman in the mirror — and learning when to be which one * Being a woman of science who made her biggest medical decisions on gut instinct: choosing total mastectomy and total hysterectomy against her doctors’ advice, twice saving her life * Why “listen and don’t criticize” is the single best thing you can offer someone facing a diagnosis * Why asking “why me?” is not complaining — and how that question ultimately strengthened her faith * Writing while it was happening: journaling her feelings in real time, and how getting it out of her system let her step outside the picture and see clearly * Losing her father, and discovering that surviving cancer twice did not prepare her for that grief * Her honest, uncomforting, deeply comforting promise: it will not get easier, but you will find a way to live with it Manal’s advice for anyone in the middle of a tribulation is simple. Speak about it. Write it down. Don’t worry about being criticized. And if you love someone who is suffering: listen, be available, and don’t push. They will talk when they are ready. When Hard Lilies Cry is available on Amazon and can be ordered through Barnes & Noble. Listen to Unbreakable Spirits on Spotify: Listen on Apple Podcasts: Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MaryanneHaggerty Read more on Substack: https://healthyfitnessbymaryanne.substack.com/podcast #BreastCancerSurvivor #ThyroidCancer #CancerSurvivorStory #WhenHardLiliesCry #ManalShurafa #CancerMemoir #MastectomyJourney #CancerAndFaith #ParentingThroughCancer #WhyMe #GriefAndHealing #CancerSupport #WomenOfStrength #Resilience #UnbreakableSpirits #MaryanneHaggerty #StrengthAndResilience #HealingJourney #WritingToHeal #CancerAwareness This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit healthyfitnessbymaryanne.substack.com
