I Believe in Angels
By Lilas Sinno, Staff Writer

Beirut, Lebanon - ‘I believe in angels… Yes, I do’. That is the first thought that crossed my mind as soon as I finished reading ‘I Believe in Angels’ by Yasmina Hatem. Having experienced the loss of a very close person due to cancer, I decided to conduct an interview with the author, Yasmina Hatem, who was able to attract my attention through her writing, especially because she was only 13 years old when she wrote ‘I Believe in Angels’, and try to discuss the main ideas recurring in the book. During the interview, my main aim was to converse about the book rather than just conduct a mere interview. Therefore this interview is mainly based on exchanging ideas, on the one hand, and discovering more about the author and her writing, on the other.

- Can you please tell me a bit about yourself?

“I am Yasmina Hatem. I’m 21 years old, and I graduated from AUB with a degree in sociology. Even though this major was not really what I wanted to do, I chose it because it featured a communication minor, which is something similar to what I really wanted to do: journalism. Right now, I just got a scholarship at Columbia University, where I plan to master in journalism”.

- How did the entire writing process of ‘I Believe in Angels’ start, and how long did it take you to finish it?

“I am a person, who enjoys writing. I have always written, but I use to start things and never finish them because I used to lose the inspiration. I started writing ‘I Believe in Angels’ when I was only 13, and it took me around 6 to 7 months to finish, and I dedicated it to a friend on his birthday. The idea behind the book was inspired by a friendship I had with a boy. All my friends around me used to tell me that there is no friendship between a girl and a guy and used to make fun of me by telling me that I was in love. Hence, I decided to write about this friendship to prove to my friends that friendship between a girl and a boy does exist. On the other hand, the main reason why I included the fact that the boy has cancer, even though I knew nothing about the sickness, was because I had experienced the death of close people. So the idea of the book was mainly an inspiration of both friendship and death that I had previously gone through and experienced, and so I put them in context.  Two years after I wrote ‘I Believe in Angels’, my mother was diagnosed with cancer, and it was only then that I got to actually know what this sickness is really about. This experience made me stronger because at the age of 16, after my mother passed away, I was given so many responsibilities that pushed me to become the parent at home. Not only did this experience strengthen me; it also changed me and made me strive to work harder to make my mother proud. Moreover, it made me go to extremes to make this happen and to work on doing things that matter”.

- What was the feedback you got back then?

“As I previously mentioned, when I first wrote the book I never had in mind that it would reach that far, and I had only made three copies, which were mainly read by my friends and people around me. My friends, who were 13 years old back then, really liked it and saw it as a big hit. I remember one of my friends even took quotes and came up to me during the book signing and showed me all the quotes she had previously taken and kept till now. I was also reviewed by several read media like l’Orient le jour, the Daily Star and Nun. The reviews were very nice and very good, but I think I was not reviewed fairly because it was more like an encouragement and not actual reviews”.

- How come you decided to publish it now?
“One of the Lebanese Canadian Bank staff members was talking to my dad about how they are trying to find a project to sponsor, the profits of which would go the Children Cancer Center. Knowing that my dad and I always wanted to help sick children, it was like a perfect coincidence. Therefore, my father thought that this could be a great opportunity and informed the Lebanese Canadian Bank about my book. After that, everything went perfectly; we had a sponsor and a place to donate the profits to. It was very hard for me to read the book now especially after the experience I had previously gone through when my mother had been diagnosed with cancer. Since we only had three copies of the book, I had to read the book again and type it. During that process, I felt horrified, especially after experiencing the loss of a close person due to cancer. In addition, I felt embarrassed because of the writing style; however, I overcame that because I knew that it was a 13-year-old writing, and if I was to write it again now, I would do so in a totally different manner. Afterwards, we were able to publish the book, which was sponsored by the Lebanese Canadian Bank, and we donated all the profits to the Children Cancer Center, something I had always wanted to do”. 

- Are you writing anything now?

“Yes, I am, but it is not going to be finished anytime soon. I am a person who likes to write in a certain frame of mind where I feel inspired, and I prefer to wait till the inspiration comes to me. Right now, I am very busy before I leave to New York to study journalism, so I have not really had the time to finish writing. However, the new story I am writing is based on my sister’s personality, and I know exactly where I am going with it, and I hope I can finish it when I get to New York”.

- Have you thought of writing about your mom?

“I am not ready to write about my mother yet, but if I ever do, I think I would focus more on the after death part and how I dealt with it and how I grew up as a person. After all, I was only 16 years old when I lost my mother and became in charge of everything at home. I went through a really hard time. Before my mother passed away, I was an ambitious person, and I knew exactly what to do, but during my first year at AUB, I lost all that ambition as if it was drained out of me. The click came when I met my boyfriend who made me realize that I had tossed everything and lost my ambitions. That is when all the inspiration and the desire came back to me. The experiences I previously went through, especially the loss of my mother, taught me how to balance things in life. I always wanted to do something to help or something that matters; that is why I decided to become a social journalist and try to write about things that matter and give awareness”.

For those who have not read ‘I Believe in Angels’, I advise you to buy the book. Trust me; you will not be able to let go of it before you finish it. This book highlights the importance of friendship and the extent to which a person is willing to reach to help a close friend. As soon as you finish reading ‘I Believe in Angels’ you will appreciate all the people around you and know exactly how much friendship is worth. Furthermore, keep in mind that Yasmina Hatem’s goal behind publishing I Believe in Angels is to help the kids obtain a better hospitalization, and with every book you buy, you will be helping in achieving that goal because the profits are donated to the Children Cancer Center.

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