The Shadow of Me

A mother dying from a rare disease decided to write her memoirs so that her sons will have something to remember her by.

 

“This book is the legacy I will leave behind in the hope that I will be remembered by the people I touched, especially my sons,” wrote Azlena Abdul Hamid in The Shadow of Me.

 

Azlena died in her sleep aged 59 in the early morning of Sept 1 last year, a week after she finished writing the book.

 

The Shadow of Me tells the story of Azlena, her family, and her battle with the disease, ataxia, a disorder that results in the loss of motor functions.

 

Ataxia is a neurological disease caused by damage to the nervous system, such as the cerebellum, resulting in the lack of voluntary coordination of muscle movements, and in most cases, the disease is incurable.

 

Writing as a woman, a mother and a daughter, Azlena’s words mirrored her journey, sometimes frustrating, sometimes filled with regret, but mostly, filled with happiness and love.

 

On her disease, with which she was one of the only two people in Malaysia who have been diagnosed, Azlena reflected how it showed her the different side of her two sons, Azzedin and Aris Rusland.