Thorny Life

About the Book

I am a disabled Asian woman living in England. There are still a lot of prejudices towards disabled people especially among the Asian community to this very day. They think disability is a disease which they can catch. Asian people look at you, think you have no brains and feel pity for you. They also feel sorry for you. But, I am human like anybody else. This is my story.

About the Author

I was born on 9th June 1964 at Dudley Road Hospital to Sudarshan Kaur Abrol and Avtar Singh Abrol. I was a beautiful baby. At the age of fifteen months I was struck down by cerebral palsy. This left me partially paralysed down my left side. I have no use of my left arm and I walk with a limp. This has not deprived me of anything in life because I have achieved a great deal. Firstly I attended a special school, getting nowhere, then going to a private school where I achieved my O’Levels and became independent, doing things for myself. Afterwards, I went to a local college where I got my A ‘Levels. I learned to drive which increased my independence tremendously. Getting married and moving away to live in Germany for three years meant I had to adapt to a new life style but circumstances caused me to move back to England where I gave birth to my son. My husband joined us and we bought a restaurant in Worcester. After three months of getting the restaurant, he walked out of our lives. For him, it was just a marriage of convenience. After a great struggle, I decided to sell the restaurant and moved back to Birmingham. My son went to the local school while I went back to college and completed a degree in Media Studies at Birmingham University. At present, I am working with South and City College Birmingham as a Learning Resources Facilitator.