"At the age of thirty-four, while most of my girlfriends hurriedly made babies before their fertility windows closed, I received a diagnosis of stage three breast cancer."
This is the first paragraph in the introduction of her book.
Wide-eyed, I continued to read.
“I did not feel sick. I ate cleanly, biked to work, practiced yoga regularly, looked radiant, and my body was trying to kill me. Physically, I felt great. Emotionally, I was a mess. Recently broken up from my first long-term relationship, I returned to Washington, DC, where I had not lived since I was eighteen. People I knew were settling down in careers and first homes while I was in debt, living at my mom’s, and working for a dysfunctional international organization. I longed to belong to life but I contemplated my death daily."
The paragraphs poked something deep within me. The state Sebene describes felt so familiar. Minus the cancer diagnosis, I remember multiple instances in my life where I felt I was running away from something and into another thing equally if not more undesired. Disfunction in my personal life, emotional landslides a common occurrence. I fell short on what felt like everyone's standards of successful or anything worth doing or having. Contemplating my death which I was sure would be caused by my own hands.
I also had a consistent deep longing to belong to life. To all that is. Something in me knew that I am always connected to everything and everyone. But as an immigrant, second timer wife, stepparent, spiritual seeker on the path of unchaining what my programming says about where I am and am not, embodying belonging anywhere was a tough ask.
So I continued to read Sebene Selassie's book "You Belong"
Downloaded the audio version it and listened to her narrate it so beautifully. Listened to the whole 8 hours again.
Each chapter was deeply relatable, enlightening and simply brilliant. She unpacks the illusion of separation and fear of not belonging, how to become more and more aware of our "birth right", true belonging, through grounding, knowing, loving and connecting ourselves.
Please take a listen to this podcast episode where Sebene does more than just answer my questions about her life story and her book. I hope you are blessed with it a much as I am.
Get in touch with Sebene through her Website. She is also on Social media with the handle @sebeneselassie
To get your hands on Sebene's book, click here
While others consider injera as a cultural curiosity, knowing that the bread contains the sweat and skin of women(same as a nipple) is meant to mimic a nipple and strengthen the family links is not only a lack of knowledge, it is a disconnection with reality and not knowing what is necessary to bring good health. Without berbere (they go together) you risk kidney stones and the dang pain when urinating is a good reminder, those things are for health and not just a cultural curiosity. Also is forgetting what is necessary to keep healthy, to eat right (vegan). A thing I had to learn being hit by crohn's disease and a brain tumour that restricted me to a wheelchair.…
This is really amazing interview it so deep and I learned much. Thanks Tiemert for your good job in searching to share soul feeding persons rare to find in life time. Keep up the good work and be sure that you are touching many humans. Blessings
Thank you Tiemertye for all your empowering podcasts. Sebene is amazing. For some reason I am more touched by her mom's story. Just listening the first part touched me so deep, and my heart hurts so much right now just imagining how tough life had been for her mom.(don't mind me, am too soft. The kind of woman who watches the end of a movie before starting. If it has a happy ending I will watch if not I will stop) I can't imagine the hardship she passed to raise three kids almost by herself. The fact that you have someone, but he is not really there is painful. It is much better to be alone, and raise the kids…