When the future is uncertain and every moment feels impossibly fragile, some families discover a strength they never asked for—and a love that refuses to waver. This is the kind of fierce, tender resilience that defines the story of Dr. Tasha Faruqui.
An award-winning pediatrician and mother of three, Tasha’s world shifted permanently when her second daughter, Soraya, was born with a rare and undiagnosed medical condition. Despite her years of medical training, nothing could have prepared her for the emotional, spiritual, and psychological terrain of raising a child with a limited life expectancy—without a diagnosis, cure, or roadmap forward.
Over thirteen years into this journey, Soraya’s condition remains a mystery. And yet, amid the heartbreak and unanswered questions, Tasha discovered something even more powerful than certainty: hope redefined.
From Grief to Grace
In the early days of Soraya’s life, Tasha searched endlessly for answers—scouring textbooks, chasing second opinions, and holding on tightly to the belief that a diagnosis might somehow change everything. But as time passed, she began to understand that not every story has a solution. Some simply demand to be lived—with courage, love, and deep presence.
What she experienced was anticipatory grief—a quiet, invisible mourning that begins long before the final goodbye. It’s a type of grief rarely talked about, yet intimately familiar to parents walking similar paths. In response, Tasha began to write. What emerged is her debut memoir, Keep Your Head Up: A Mother’s Story of Chasing Joy in the Face of Grief, coming September 16, 2025.
A Love Letter to Parents Facing the Unthinkable
Tasha’s book is more than a memoir—it’s a beacon for families navigating the unknown. With honesty, warmth, and a deep well of hard-earned wisdom, she gives voice to the experience of parenting a terminally ill child in a way that is both unflinching and uplifting. Her story is not about fixing the unfixable—it’s about living anyway. Loving anyway. Laughing anyway.
Through her words, readers are reminded that joy and sorrow are not mutually exclusive. That beauty still exists in the midst of brokenness. And that presence—the act of showing up again and again—is one of the greatest gifts we can offer our children and ourselves.
Redefining Hope
For Tasha, hope once looked like healing. But over time, that definition transformed. Hope became about the moment, not the miracle. It became about cherishing Soraya exactly as she is, in the time they have together, without waiting for answers that may never come.
“While I’ve been looking for how to live my life,” she writes, “it’s already always been there. It’s just a matter of uncovering it, giving it time, giving it love, giving it permission, and having everybody on board.”
Her message is clear: Hope doesn’t always fix. Sometimes, it simply holds.
Living Fully, Loving Fiercely
Today, Tasha balances motherhood and medicine with an unwavering commitment to advocacy. She speaks to medical students about family-centered care, shares reflections with her Instagram community (@thefaruqui5), and encourages other parents to embrace their own strength—even when the future is unknown.
Her story reminds us that life isn’t only about what we can cure or control. It’s about how deeply we can love. How bravely we can grieve. How intentionally we can show up for one another, again and again.
“Keep Your Head Up: A Mother’s Story of Chasing Joy in the Face of Grief” will be released on September 16, 2025.
💛 100% of proceeds will benefit organizations close to the Faruqui family’s heart.
📘 Pre-orders available now on Amazon.
🌐 Learn more: www.tashafaruqui.com
📱 Follow: @thefaruqui5
🎧 Want to hear more of Tasha’s story? Listen to her conversation on the our Empowered by Hope podcast—also available wherever you get your podcasts.
