#1 New Release on Breast Cancer
Amazon July 2018
"Niyati’s story gripped me from the first page. Written from the heart she lays herself bare and tells her story with dignity, truth, heartfelt sadness and overall, her amazing sense of humour. I laughed, I cried, I felt like I was on the journey with her."
- UK reader review
Unafraid: A Survivor's Quest for Human Connection
On March 2, 2018, author Niyati Tamaskar heard the words that would forever change the course of her life: “All three sites have tested positive for cancer.” She was a thirty-four-year-old, breastfeeding mother with a doting husband and a fulfilling engineering job. Invasive ductile carcinoma, though, doesn’t discriminate. It doesn’t care how old you are, how many kids you have, or how successful you’re supposed to be.
Further complicating things, Niyati grew up in India, where many people consider cancer a taboo topic. With Unafraid, she has decided to do the unthinkable: talk about the “c-word”.
The result is a transparent, no-holds-barred account of her diagnosis, treatment, and recovery. Equal parts raw, inspiring, and laugh-out-loud absurd, Unafraid offers a gripping chronicle of one woman’s fight to assert her humanity and strength, come hell or high water. The reader will find the many moments of despair and anguish eclipsed by accounts of the outpouring of love, support, and prayer Niyati received. Friends and family came together to make her battle surmountable—and even hopeful.
Niyati’s story is one of courage, vulnerability, and having the gumption to laugh in the face of cancer.
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Unabashed: Self-Advocacy and the Quest to Foster Empathy
Discover the power of empathy, value of community, currency of hope, and strength of advocacy—as told by a breast cancer survivor, woman of color, immigrant, and advocate for change, Niyati Tamaskar.
Niyati’s own breast cancer journey and unique cultural history—as a successful immigrant from India living in the US—positions her as a one-of-a-kind, deeply authentic voice. While others have journeyed through cancer, she is brutally honest about how messy survivorship can be—while providing contagious hope not only for survivors, but for anyone willing to dig deep and unravel norms.
How do we thrive after trauma? How do we, as a community, give a voice to those who don’t have one—or can’t fight for themselves? How do we use our privilege with empathy? Where did we come from, and how can we create a legacy that moves the needle on the issues that matter most? These deeply profound questions are at the heart of Unabashed.
Each of us carry a unique set of often-hidden scars. Niyati shares wisdom, without portraying herself as owning all the answers. The book feels like a conversation over coffee. She is the woman you want in your corner, the one who can be both wise and sometimes bruised but never broken. She rises with her own strength and when that doesn’t work, Niyati is willing to let the community give her a hand.