A Voice out of Poverty Guest Post and Giveaway

 

A Voice Out of Poverty

by Jillian Haslam

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GENRE: Memoir

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BLURB:

A woman’s ascent from devastating poverty and childhood trauma to international standing as a prominent advocate for the poor and helpless.

As a young girl, Jillian Haslam saved a life. Herself tiny and aching from malnutrition, she stood for hours at a tea shop, begging for a ladle of milk to try and prevent her newborn sister from dying of starvation.

From the slums of Calcutta to the executive floors of a global bank, A Voice out of Poverty offers an unflinching look at one woman’s journey from destitution to success.

Throughout, Haslam demonstrates an inexhaustible drive to rise above adversity and find beacons of positivity in impossible circumstances. But her rise doesn’t stop at the top; she returns to her roots again and again to extend a hand to those left in the impoverished communities that she so narrowly escaped.

British by ancestry and born in India after its independence, Haslam and her family suffered degradation and prejudice. They were forced to live on the streets, flee danger in the middle of the night, and face persistent abuse and starvation.

This treacherous environment is the backdrop of an unlikely story of resilience and an unshakable family bond. From squalor and powerlessness, Haslam finds countless moments of grace, community, gratitude, and love.

A Voice out of Poverty is a raw and inspiring memoir that shows how beauty can be found in improbable places, and how “success” is not just the act of making it through. Rather, it is the act of reaching back to bring others with you.

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Excerpt 

A bristly, grey rat jutted its head through a wide crack in the peeling stucco wall, its long tail draped behind and hidden. It squinted its beady eyes and sniffed the air, as a light drizzle started to dampen the ground.

A few feet away, an older homeless woman, sitting under a precarious building canopy, shifted her eyes towards the rat, without moving her head. A stray dog nestled next to her, one of three gathered snuggly around her, bared its teeth, and growled at the rodent, without rising.

The woman swiveled her head in the rat’s direction and shooed it away with a claw-like hand slicing the air. The rat withdrew, vanishing inside the wall. The dog returned its head to rest on its paws and closed its eyes.

The drizzle turned into a light rain.

My mother and I took in the rat scene side by side as we ambled down the street. My eyes remained riveted on the homeless woman. I wondered if she had a family or young children like me. Then, the noisy “pop-pop” of a Vespa flew near my eyes and broke my concentration, causing me to pull my head back abruptly. I gripped my mother’s hand as tightly as I could.

The rain was now steady but not enough to flood the crowded streets or inhibit the pace of the fast-moving foot and vehicle traffic. I looked up to see an old man pulling a rickshaw coming towards us. I stared at him. His emaciated body looked as if his skin could peel off in thin layers, like a stale onion. He stared at me, sharing his single black tooth. I held my stare.

The rickshaw puller veered off the line of his path, forcing a dilapidated scooter that packed an entire family to swerve near us. The scooter splashed mud onto my legs and dress, and I started to cry. My only proper dress was drenched with filth. I now would have to undress to underclothes while it got washed. My mother stopped and crouched in front of me. I didn’t hide my disgust.

Guest Post

The Survival Instinct – Why only the tough & truly resilient remain!

“Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.” –Helen Keller

Survival is a very important concept in the animal kingdom. Every animal irrespective of its habitat has a unique technique to ensure continuous existence. The lizard for instance is well adapted for life in dry places like the desert with its ability to conserve water. It is with the aim of survival that the lizard passes its uric acid waste as a dry gel or powdry solid.

There will be no need to develop the means to survive if the conditions are perfect. Life does not present us with perfect situations, hence the need for survival skills and instincts. In a similar version to what is obtainable amidst other animals, the most adaptive individuals come out of life surviving and not just existing.

It is not a game of chance, it is the one with the most adaptive properties that survive. Coming out of turbulence unbroken does not come by luck or chance, it takes character. There is a peculiarity common to individuals that have shone like the sun during the rainy days of their life. There is an attribute that they all possess.

The Holocaust Victor

World War II saw the killing of over 6 million European Jews in German-occupied Europe. Otto Frank served in the artillery unit of the Imperial German Army during World War I and was promoted to lieutenant in 1917. But the situation was completely different during the Second World War.

In the wave of the anti-Jewish decrees in 1933, Frank decided to relocate with his family to Amsterdam. He was able to establish himself as an agent of a company Opetka that sells spices and pectin newly entering the Amsterdam market from Germany. Otto was also able to start his own company, Pectacon.

By May 1940, the Germans have invaded the Netherlands and he was forced to relinquish his companies. He had to transfer the control of his business to non-Jews, the companies went “Aryan.” Frank with his family went into hiding on July 6, 1942 in the upper rear rooms of his Opetka office. They had to stay in this hiding for two consecutive years until 1944 when they were found by raiding Gestapo.

They were arrested and sent to Auschwitz where Frank was separated from his family for life. He had two daughters Margot and Anne aged 18 and 15. Margot and Anne were transferred to Bergen-Belsen concentration camp where they met their end predicted to be due to typhus in 1944. Edith, Frank’s wife died of disease and starvation in Auschwitz in 1945.

Otto Frank was sent to the men’s barracks where he suffered starvation and disease before the Auschwitz liberation by the Soviet forces in late 1945. He went in search of his family for 6months before finding out he had lost everyone of them.

The Survivor Instinct

It was a devastating time for the Jews in Europe, but we have stories of survivors like Otto Frank, Elie Wiesel, Dr. Ruth Weistheimer, Roman Polanski, and several others who came out better than when they went in (in many respects). These four were lone survivors out of their families, there is something that MUST set them apart.

Resilience is the ability to mentally and emotionally cope with a crisis. Otto Frank moved out of Germany to Amsterdam and established two companies, survived for two years in a hideout in the upper quarters of his office, survived the starvation and torture of Auschwitz, survived the anguish of the death of his family, and still managed to create a lasting legacy afterward; “The Anne Frank House.”

The weak and frail are thinned out when life happens, it is only the tough that remains. Christopher Reeve said that a hero is an ordinary person who finds the strength to persevere and endure despite overwhelming obstacles. It is mental or emotional resilience that helps a man go through a troubling time still optimistic and positive about life.

Success in life cannot happen without having the ability to keep moving forward in dark tunnels. It takes perseverance and utter determination to continue plowing in the summer, trusting that spring will soon come! The strongest oak is not the one that hides away from the storm, it is the one that stands in the open against the relentless wind. Resilience keeps the human spirit strong and standing against the roaring and raging storms of life. With a resilient spirit, you can only bend in trying times, you cannot and will not break!!

You can be Resilient

The elasticity of rubber cannot be tested without it undergoing the stress from a force. The oak tree that grows under the covers and canopy of other trees can never be as strong as the one that is constantly faced by the wind. Resilience can be developed but only by the ones that are committed to stand tall in the face of adversity & turbulence.

The strong resolve to hang on to the flickest of hope on dark days does not just come forth, it is built over time. You need to begin by accepting positive thinking as a daily way of life. It is this repetition that builds our neurology. Believing that you have the same ability or mental faculties as any Holocaust survivor or individual who has experienced what rock bottom feels like. In my father’s words - Life is a progressive journey, never be deceived to believe that negative events are permanent. Learn to believe that they are opportunity-laden and a chance to bring forth the very best in you. Never see yourself as a victim of a situation, see it as the chance to dig deeper within yourself to build a will that is unwilling to relent.

Find within yourself the ability to respond rightly even when the happenings around you feel totally wrong. It is your primary responsibility and yours alone to control how you perceive and react to events. Master the art of keeping your thoughts positive, embrace challenges as a platform for growth and you will see resilience build-up in you. Practice this and you will be different!!

“Resiliency is something you do, more than something you have. . . You become highly resilient by continuously learning your best way of being yourself in your circumstance.” - Al Siebert

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Jillian Haslam was born in 1970 and raised primarily in the slums of Calcutta. Despite the severe devastation of her family’s living circumstances, she completed her education and landed her first major employment as a personal assistant to the CEO at Bank of America in India.

Jillian rose through the ranks, and Bank of America appointed her president of its Charity and Diversity Network in India, where she spearheaded charitable work in four different cities. This led her to receive three philanthropic awards from Bank of America: the Star Recognition award, the Service Excellence award, and The Individual Achievement award.

In 2011, she published the first version of her memoir, Indian. English, which chronicles her life growing up amid dreadful poverty, abuse, and tragedy. The book sold over 150,000 copies, mostly while she was on the speaking circuit. Her story also incited interest from Hollywood and British film directors and producers, leading to the development of a feature film.

Charitable giving became Jillian’s life work. In 2012, she received the first runner up award for The Asian Woman of the Year in the “Social and Humanitarian” category. In early 2015, The Telegraph of Calcutta presented Jillian with the True Legend award for her exceptional contribution to social and humanitarian causes. In mid-2015, she was recognized as a finalist for the Role Model of the Year award for her work delivering speeches in educational institutes across the UK. In late 2016, she received an award for Excellence in Humanitarianism. And, in 2017, she received her greatest accolade, the Mother Teresa Memorial International Award.

Jillian became a speaker in demand and is a Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM). She has delivered several TEDx talks, among other prestigious speaking engagements, on various topics that flow from her life story. Jillian speaks on topics that include entrepreneurialism, the power of the mind, and human resilience.

She has also been featured on various TV networks, including Channel 5 and the BBC, and a wide range of print media, including The Independent, The Pioneer, The Times, The Telegraph, The Metro, Gulf News, and other major media outlets. Jillian’s charitable work continues under the auspices of the Remedia Trust where she oversees several separate charities: Ageing Smiles (for the elderly poor), Happy Hearts (for children), Empowering Girls (for teaching various workable skills), India’s Disabled (for building a mobile medical unit), E3 Growth (focused on education, employment, and employability), and the Mother Teresa Project (for women and single mothers).

Jillian currently lives in London with her husband.

Connect with her here:

www.jillianhaslam.com

https://books2read.com/u/3JnzxK (all available buy links are here)

https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/58948875

https://www.facebook.com/jillian.haslam

https://www.facebook.com/IndianEnglishTheMovie

https://twitter.com/JillianHaslam

https://www.instagram.com/jillian.haslam/

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE

One randomly chosen winner via rafflecopter will win a $25 Amazon/BN.com gift card.

a Rafflecopter giveaway