Living isn't easy, being young is even more difficult. We are all actors trying to make some sense out of life. After a painful incident, Elisabeth takes on a role she has crafted for herself yet, this decision has its flaws. Elisabeth took her mask too seriously, while suffocating underneath it, she offers us a humorous show that is as childish as it is profound. She is living in our society while defying it. Her approach to the world gives us the impression that she lives in a different universe, keeping her inner world separate from the outside world.
Lucia's life is perfect on the outside - she is rich, has all the chances a girl like her could dream of. Her parents have all money in the world. But no one can see what her parents are doing behind closed doors. Even if they knew, they probably would not care. No one understands how she feels. At least that is what she thought. She feels unseen and unworthy of this life. When everything becomes too much, only her secret crush can probably save her. The only star in her life, lightning up the darkness in herself. But can she see behind Lucia's perfect mask?
Minutes before Brian Walsh, then just a teenager, heard his beeper go off, calling him to help put out another fire, he was on top of the world. An hour later, after a freak flashover and confusion that sent the junior firefighter into the inferno against regulations, Brian had suffered such profound burns to his face that he was unidentifiable to his fellow firefighters. Nearly everyone expected him to die that night. He did not. Nearly everyone expected him to die in the burn unit where, over the next month, every other patient died. Nearly everyone, including family and friends, expected Brian to choose a professional life that would keep him from showing his face, and the personal life of a hermit. He did not. Boldly forging a path forward with courage, grace, and determination, Brian silenced his doubters and defied all expectations. Decades later, Brian is an extraordinarily successful and renowned financial planner, family man, community fixture, philanthropist, motivational speaker, and industry leader. In this stirring autobiography, he tells his incredible story, sharing the lessons that only tragedy could teach and how they helped him—and can help anyone—achieve greater success, inside and out. Beyond the Mask is the moving and inspirational story of how one horrific moment can define a human being forever—in the most life-affirming way.
He was born that way. Few would forgive his appearance. Fear and revulsion, even rage, were not unfamiliar to him. The villagers, but for one small child, have not been kind. The forest, his home, was not only a sanctuary, ironically, it also became his prison. One day, the forest offered him something more. What he found both chilled and excited him. It was a discovery that would change his life forever. The Mask is an allegorical tale that touches upon our human frailties, inspires us to find our inner truth, and dares us to be more courageous than we can imagine. Beautifully illustrated and designed, The Mask compels a reader to ponder important social issues such as bullying and body image as well as the meaning of beauty and truth.
Zafar demonstrates that in doing so, these forerunners of modern black American writers both adapted to and reacted against a milieu of social resistance and cultural antipathy. By the end of Reconstruction, this first century of black writers had paved the way for a distinctive, African American literature.
The process of weaving a fictional dream can be painful and also joyful path to self discovery, realizes an ordinary man when he sits down to reveal his thoughts and bring to life characters whose lives would confront and impact his heart and mind. As the people of the imaginary world open the Writer's eyes to his own soul, he relishes his intimate sentiments and sees the color of his emotions. Caught in an imaginary fabrication where at times he basks in the beauty of creation and at moments he suffers its loneliness . There is transformation and simultaneous transition during these years of writing, the beginning commences in the cold winter and rejuvenating spring comes in the end. But the big question is will the Writer and his realm of fiction survive or both perish without the world ever reading his words and recognizing his worth. Mask in the Mirror is a gripping story of self discovery, introspection, and a touching saga of how fictional life can change the real life of an ordinary man.
