Divine Strength of Mind

Book excerpt: Divine Strength of Mind tells the story of Raj Williams's life-threatening illnesses of Olympian proportions and the way they affected her life. It also touches on her life in India and America and how this background shaped her to be a strong-willed person who knows no fear and believes in the strength of prayers. She is convinced that her recovery from major illnesses would not have been possible if it had not been for her strong faith in God and her incredible network of support from her family, friends, and neighbors. Raj was first diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2003, which was mostly removed the same year. Since she was pregnant at the time of surgery, however, the tumor was not completely removed and started to grow back; she therefore had to undergo a second surgery in 2007. One week before her second surgery, Raj was diagnosed with breast cancer, for which she had cancer surgery in 2008, followed by chemotherapy and radiation the same year. Raj attributes her survival from these major illnesses to her faith in God, her mother's prayers, great doctors, and a huge support system comprising of friends and neighbors in Annapolis, Maryland. Raj believes she had the best doctors, the best of friends, and neighbors a person can have, and that it took the joint eff ort of all these individuals to heal her! "Your book is really quite something. Reading your book gives me further insight into what you went through with both your brain tumor and breast cancer. How you wove this into your entire life is fascinating" Dr. Stanley Watkins, Jr., M.D., Annapolis Oncology Center "Now that I have read your book, I can tell you this... Unbelievable! It's hard to even imagine one person going through all that you have. You are one tough cookie! It's like a movie, except that I know it all to be true. Your words can be very motivational". Tim Sharpe, President, Adrian R'Mante Young Actors Camp, Hollywood, CA