Behind Those Smiles: (Suffering but Smiling)

By Nkwachi Ebere

Behind Those Smiles: Suffering But Smiling is a book that chronicles the author’s battle with pain and suffering —a life of pain, perhaps foretold by her childhood . She lost her father early, followed years later by her mother’s death, which thrust her into responsibility as a mother figure for her younger brothers early in her life. When she thought that her pains were all in the past, she was involved in a motor accident so ghastly that the doctors gave her no chance of survival. She survived —after a succession of miracles! The book leads us through these miracles in an enthralling tale of the triumph of hope over hopelessness, victory of mind over matter, and crucially, divinity’s supremacy in the affairs of man. Though the author’s smile may have faltered at some point, it never really disappeared. Indeed, she was suffering but smiling, and God gave her victory!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jul 11, 2021
• ISBN: 9781664182264

Nkwachi Ebere

Nkwachi Chinonye Ebere , RN, MSN, PMHNP-BC, is a New York –based child psychiatric and mental health nurse practitioner, qualified in Nigeria as a registered nurse and midwife in 1991 and 1993 respectively. After working in some establishments in Aba, Nigeria, she migrated to the US where she first worked in a city hospital. She obtained a bachelor’s degree in nursing in 2009 and commenced a master’s degree program, which was disrupted in 2015 by a ghastly motor accident that left her paralyzed and struggling for life. She survived and completed the master’s program in 2019 and crowned it by passing the board certification exams for psychiatric and mental health nursing practitioner (PMHNP-BC). Nkwachi has not authored any book previously, but her life experiences , particularly the motor accident of 2015 and its fallouts, have propelled her into writing this book as a source of inspiration to everyone who finds themselves in situations of hopelessness.

Book preview

Copyright © 2021 by Nkwachi Ebere.

ISBN:       Softcover      978-1-6641-8227-1

                  eBook           978-1-6641-8226-4

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Rev. date: 07/09/2021

Xlibris

844-714-8691

www.Xlibris.com

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CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

Chapter 1    Throwback

Chapter 2    The Accident

Chapter 3    A Succession of Miracles

Chapter 4    He Spoke to Me!

Chapter 5    Going Back Home, Thanksgiving, and then Back to School

Chapter 6    The Trip to Nigeria

Chapter 7    More Heartache and Other Stories

Chapter 8    Back to Work

Chapter 9    Job’s Friends Are Still Here; My Attorney, My Luck

Chapter 10    A Little More About Suffering

Chapter 11    Let’s Talk Faith

Chapter 12    Gratitude

Epilogue

References

This is

dedicated to the loving memories of my parents, the late Ephraim and Evelyn Nwakanma, and my uncle the late Jephtha Nwakanma, who taught me to always wear a smile despite whatever life throws at me.

You all went through your own sufferings with a beautiful and infectious smile.

I miss you all so much.

Acknowledgments

All praises to God for His marvelous grace and mercies. Special thanks to my husband, Chigo Ebere; sister, Ugochi Imo; and brother, Ihuoma Nwakanma, who filled me in on what happened those times in the hospital when I was unconscious. I would have missed some interesting incidents if you hadn’t retold them over and over. Thanks to my colleagues who had encouraged me with a word or two to write this book. Your words This will be an inspiration to someone kept flashing in my mind and gave me strength to write, even when I was in severe pain. You all described my disability as a special kind of strength and will power. How can I forget my family, friends, church, and community members who, through their care, gave me the idea for some of the chapters of this book ? Words cannot express my gratitude and appreciation to you all.

My children were my computer experts: Izu, Ugo, and Chidi. I am so blessed to call you all mine. Whenever I got stuck, I called, and you left whatever you were doing to come to my aid. You understood that I get frustrated easily but won’t give up on anything I set my mind on.

Thanks to my siblings for being exceptional. You are all my backbone. I appreciate all your care and encouragement. I thank my brother, Chi, for making time from his busy schedule as a judge to read and efficiently correct the manuscript for production. I was a nuisance in that I frequently gave you several instructions in a day only to change them the next day.

What a true friend you are, Jamilah. I remain grateful to you and ask God to continue to bless you.

Thanks to the editor and publisher.

Chapter 1

Throwback

I was born in Umuorji Village, Ohanze, in present -day Obingwa Local Government Area of Abia State in the southeastern part of Nigeria and to parents who were blessed with six children (three girls and three boys). I am the third child and the last female. One or two persons at that time may have referred to me as a child who paved the way for the boys. I was, therefore, a harbinger or forerunner of good things, as it were, because my culture at that time attached more value to male children. My name, Nkwachi, translates literally into the promise of God. That kind of made me special. My uncles and aunties tell stories of me being an unhappy and stubborn child who cried unprovoked often and at odd times, including in the dead of the night, and would not be pacified. It was frustrating for my parents. My caregivers got frustrated also and concluded that I enjoyed crying (does not sound so normal, does it?). The interesting thing here is that I cried nonstop, as I was told, with my belly button and eyes bulging, only stopping when I got really tired. Each time they narrate stories of my different crying episodes (at different settings), my present life of pain and sufferings come to my mind. Was I crying, then, for the present time? Had I exhausted in my infancy the crying that I would have been doing now?

My beloved father worked so hard to financially provide for his wife and six children. My mother stayed home then to comply with train up a child in the way that he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it (Proverbs 22:6 KJV). My parents actually did well, and their story and legacy will make another good book. One might have described my family then as blessed, comfortable, middle class and every other good adjective to describe a God-fearing family. My siblings and I were comfortable and grateful to have a good life. Just to be sure that you understand me, we were not rich, but we had everything we needed, not wanted. Nothing lasts forever, as they say. As we were growing and enjoying our beloved parents, death struck, and my beloved father was no more. If you have not experienced the death of a father, you will not understand how we felt at this time. A person without that experience cannot say I understand how you feel. No, you do not. My mother picked up courage and promised to do her best to continue without my father. I can only describe our lives at that time as managing to get through each day and each obstacle. We were good children