“Never Give Up”: A book about Inspiration and Empowerment. Ani Qochar’s Interview for Public TV Company of Armenia (video in Armenian)

When journalist Ani Kochar was diagnosed with blood cancer  a few years ago, only the first days were shocking for her. After that Ani became a motivator for herself and started her fight against the disease with faith and without retreat. “When laying in bed, under the influence of medicine, I opened my eyes and looked around. I used to tell my loved ones that I am in hell, but I will get out of there. I was the one to cheer up and inspire the people around me. However, it was impossible to advise thousands of people and  I decided to write a book so that everyone could read it, so that everyone would learn more about this path. 

I started writing while I was in the hospital. I wrote down my thoughts every day, all the little details, little victories and struggles. That’s when I got an unexpected call. “While I was writing my notes, I received an offer from Artak Aleksanyan, the head of Newmag publishing house, and it seemed like a coincidence. We started working on the book right away. You really need to put in a lot of effort and time, but we did everything quickly, because the book had to be delivered to people quickly, so they could learn that there should be no surrender.”

When the long and hard treatment was about to begin, Ani decided not to give up. Her pen helped her with that. She does not consider herself a writer, and the book is a personal story about her challenging and inspiring path. “My memoir was written by life, if I can say that. This is a memoir about a survivor who overcame many difficulties and faced numerous problems. This book is for those who encounter similar feelings and paths.”

Ani Qochar claims that she got an offer from film producers to make a movie based on the memoir. “Very few people will agree to speak honestly and openly about their failure or rebirth. It is a new thing in our reality. People tell me that in their difficult days they open the book, read it and reclaim for themselves that there is no surrender.”

The audience for which Ani wrote the book warmly welcomed it. Armenians living in different countries read the book and actively share their opinion on social networks. Ani believes that in any language, the “Never Give Up" memoir would inspire everyone. It is about finding a source of faith, empowerment and inspiration.