Life Lessons: Dr Jamal R Saadah
Dr Jamal R Saadah is a consultant physician at the department of emergency medicine, Mafraq Hospital. Originally from the West Bank city of Ramallah, he is a US citizen and has been living in Abu Dhabi for a year, prior to which he lived in Dubai.
Never miss a beat. I have a beautiful family: three boys and a wonderful wife who complete me. One day my life is bound to flash before my eyes; when it does, I want to make certain that it will be worth watching. I want to be aware of the fact that I never took life lightly and never once for granted. Some say that if you live a life of fear, you’re dead; if you are dead, then you have nothing to fear. A simple reminder to take life by the horns and live it to the fullest, never missing a beat. In this regard…
Give life meaning. Life will become a meaningless chore if we allow it. By giving life meaning, each of us has the ability to transform his or her time, body and words into worthwhile ornaments of love, hope, peace, tranquility and non-violent self-expressions on this planet, rather than hatred and disgust.
Choose your career with care. My line of work is an ever thought-provoking profession. Emergency medicine by its very nature consumes the lives of many, doctors and patients alike. Your life and outlook feel different once you greet and witness death.
Try to understand death and dying. It is because of this path I have chosen in life that I understand death and dying. How can I not? I may be a physician, but I am also a human being with a family. I may one day have to endure this burden. It will never and can never be easy to say goodbye. I can only learn through my personal “Life Lesson” as a healthcare professional what it is like. This is when I shall want to have a “ringside” seat to ensure it has been an unforgettable journey.
Accept the bad with the good. God didn’t promise days without pain, laughter without sorrow or sun without rain, but He did promise strength for the day, comfort for the tears, and light for the ways.
As told to Helena Frith Powell
Helena Frith Powell was born in Sweden to a Swedish mother and Italian father, but grew up mainly in England. She is the author of eleven books, translated into several languages including Chinese and Russian. She wrote the French Mistress column The Sunday Times about life in France for several years. She is a regular contributor to the Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday, The Times, Daily Telegraph, Tatler Magazine and Harper’s Bazaar.
Helena has been the editor of four magazines, including M Magazine, a supplement for the Abu Dhabi-based National Newspaper and FIVE, a high-end fashion glossy, also published in Abu Dhabi. Helena was also editor-in-chief of 360 Life, a quarterly glossy magazine published with the Sports 360 Newspaper in Dubai, part of the Chalhoub Group.
Helena contributes regularly to UK-based newspapers and magazines and holds a Masters in Creative Writing from the University of Cambridge. She is working on a thriller set in Sweden as well as a novel about the relationship between Virginia Woolf and Katherine Mansfield called Sense of an Echo.
In 2022 her short story The Japanese Gardener came second in the Fish Publishing Short Story Prize. One of her stories was also shortlisted for the Bridport Short Story Prize. When she’s not writing, she works as a headhunter for the media and entertainment industry for the Sucherman Group.
Helena, who was educated at Durham University, lives in the Languedoc region of France with her husband Rupert and their three children.
Bibliography
More France Please, we’re British; Gibson Square 2004
Two Lipsticks and a Lover 2005; Gibson Square (hardback)
All You Need to be Impossibly French; (US version of above) Penguin 2006
Two Lipsticks and a Lover; Arrow Books (paperback) 2007
Ciao Bella Gibson Square; (hardback) 2006
Ciao Bella Gibson Square; (paperback) 2007
So Chic! (French version of Two Lipsticks) Leduc Editions 2008 (also translated into Chinese, Russian and Thai)
More, More France; Gibson Square 2009
To Hell in High Heels; Arrow Books 2009 (also translated into Polish)
The Viva Mayr Diet; Harper Collins 2009
Love in a Warm Climate; Gibson Square 2011
The Ex-Factor; Gibson Square 2013
Smart Women Don’t Get Wrinkles; Gibson Square 2016
The Arnolfini Marriage; Amazon Kindle December 2016
Smart Women Don’t Get Wrinkles (paperback); Gibson Square spring 2018
The Longest Night; Gibson Square spring 2019