Suleika Jaouad

Suleika Jaouad is an American writer, memoirist, and advocate whose work focuses on illness, recovery, and young adult cancer patients. She wrote the New York Times column 'Life, Interrupted' and the memoir Between Two Kingdoms, chronicling her leukemia diagnosis and recovery.

Quotes by Suleika Jaouad

Quotes: 1

Live every day as if it's your first—to wake up with a sense of curiosity, wonder, and playfulness. — Suleika Jaouad

Living Each Day With First-Day Wonder

From wonder, the quote moves to playfulness—an active response rather than a passive feeling. Playfulness isn’t only for children or vacations; it’s a way of meeting tasks with flexibility, humor, and experimentation. Even brief moments—turning a chore into a timed game, doodling during a meeting break, using a silly voice with a pet—can soften rigidity. Importantly, play is not the same as escapism. It’s a method for staying engaged when life feels heavy, allowing you to try, fail, and try again without turning every outcome into a verdict on your worth. [...]

Created on: 2/12/2026