Grace Through The Storm
A Life Rebuilt
It was a book launching with a difference Tuesday as Dr. Samina Melanie Cepal unveiled words that were spoken straight from the heart and that were close to home.
A survivor of cancer and depression herself, Dr. Cepal sought to destigmatize depression and to drive home the point that suicidal intent was not a cry for attention but rather a cry for help.
Dr. Cepal explained that while cancer victims are actively supported and flooded with assistance, victims of depression are shunned and left to navigate this dark journey in isolation.
Among the many hardships she had to navigate, was the death of her first son, Chaz Cepal, who died in a horrific accident in 2019. Chaz was a cricketer and footballer with immense regional potential.
A number of individuals close to Dr. Cepal’s life were present to the launching while was held at the Orange Grove Plaza in Bois d’Orange including Pastor Franklyn Bray and President of the Senate Alvina Reynolds.
Quoting a piece from the new publication Dr. Cepal read, “When I was diagnosed with cancer people rose up around me like wall strength. My phone never stopped ringing. Friends sent messages every single day to remind me I wasn’t alone. Strangers I never met donated to fundraisers so I could travel for treatment. Churches paryed, sometime entire congregations lifted my name before God. People I had not spoken to in years reappeared with encouragement. In Guyana when I feared I would drown in loneliness people who were practically strangers became family overnight. They sat with me….made sure I was not left adrift. They showed up in tangible ways. Hands that held mine. Words that sooth. Money that paid bills I could not. I had an army. But when depression was my illness, I had nothing but whispers. No phone calls, no greenfig salad, no home-made bread, no fundraisers, no army.”
Dr. Samina Cepal, formally Nurse Cepal, grew up in the Morne du Don/Agard area.