Dark Paradise

About this book

In this memoir, Omima Rafik returns to her childhood in a Moroccan town, recalling family conflict, her father's imprisonment and social pressures. She writes about living with bipolar disorder alongside academic difficulties, isolation and stigma directed at both her and her family. Writing and art become spaces for expression, while her relationship with Soufian and her experience of motherhood bring further changes to her life. The account explores confronting a painful past, rebuilding a relationship with oneself and finding support through love and self-forgiveness.