Sickle cell disease is a genetic disease that affects red blood cells, which are responsible for transporting oxygen in the blood. Most often diagnosed at birth, it results in anemia, greater vulnerability to infections and painful crises affecting various organs..
In the 167-page novel with eleven chapters, Minel Princilia depicts sickle cell disease in all its aspects, addressing both the physical and psychological struggles which remain the central point in her eyes. “ One of the reasons why I am presenting this book today after writing it seven years ago is that I did not feel ready to defend my ideas at the time. There was no career in literature or literary goals, but it was a way for me to write down in a book all my wounds and frustrations linked to this illness. Sickle cell disease is not a lifestyle choice but rather a genetic problem “, said Princilia at the start of her speech.
The author’s life’s fight against illness began at the age of 2. However, carefree at the start, over time she finds herself confronted with the gaze of others, of society, of an impossible love life, of a friendly rejection far from being favorable to her, confronting these difficulties with a defensive attitude which is mixed with incomprehension, with an initially external struggle which reaches her deep inside, entrenching her in solitude and self-depreciation. “Quite worrying signs began to appear on me such as recurring swelling of the hands and feet, abnormal coloring of the eyes, fingers and toes, incessant crying and episodes of unexplained fevers. After several consultations without results in large hospitals, the question arose: what if it was sickle cell disease? ”, she explained.
Adding, “ when we take our first steps completely consciously into illness, the question that often comes to mind is why me, better why only me? We have the impression of suffering an enormous injustice from providence. Because even alone or supported, and that only if we are lucky, no one knows, no one can understand “. A dark experience at first but which nevertheless took on a spiritual aspect, an encounter with oneself, the soul and God. It turned out to be beneficial because the author transformed this experience into a subtle and luminous experience. “ The ugly duckling becomes a magnificent swan », added Princilia.
This work is a dynamic, a journey through different states of mind, going like a rainbow palette, from a dreary experience to an experience of sublimation and a need for expression. The author’s very intimate writing touches on sensitive themes that many people will relate to and find the opportunity to act on. In particular the discovery of the disease, the experiences and crises of my childhood, the entry into secondary school, the university and its universality, today and me, a better and possible society, I am, alliance of coverings and goods of ‘others.
Born in 1992 in Brazzaville, Minel Princilia Bokapa Ewe studied medicine at Marien-Ngouabi University for six years before discovering her passion for letters and devoting herself entirely to writing. Alongside her work as a writer, she does poetry and slam and works as a freelancer in Dispatches from the Congo Basin.
