thrive
Maimah Karmo
Maimah Karmo, is fearless!
The author of a new book by the same name is a woman on a mission. Diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer in February 2006 at age 32, Maimah epitomizes what it means to live fearlessly. Following her diagnosis, rather than contemplating death, she instead took on life and has been fighting ever since, not just for her own life, but for the lives of other young women who have been diagnosed with this dreaded disease.
As a part of her fight, Maimah founded Tigerlily Foundation, an organization focused on supporting, educating, empowering and advocating for young women affected by breast cancer.
In her new book Fearless, Maimah chronicles her life, having grown up in Liberia, and why she and her family knew early on, that her life would be something very special. As an example, she shares that she was struck by lightning as a child, with a bolt of lightning that should have taken her life, but instead only affected her with a temporary loss of hearing. Her journey also including being caught up with family members in the civil uprising in her native home of Liberia, and how her life was spared when a gun was held to her head by rebels. Maimah’s journey brought her to America where she continued her incredible her plight of fearless living.
Maimah Karmo has received numerous awards for her work as an advocate including the Congressional Black Caucus Leadership in Advocacy Award for her work with young women and breast cancer. In 2009, she spoke on Capitol Hill, alongside Representative Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, now Democratic National Committee Chair, to introduce the Breast Cancer Education and Awareness Requires Learning Young (EARLY) Act; and in October 2010, Maimah was appointed to the Federal Advisory Committee on Breast Cancer in Young Women, a committee established by the Affordable Care Act, on which she has been working to develop initiatives to increase knowledge of breast health and breast cancer, particularly among women under the age of 40 and those at heightened risk for developing the disease.
She has also been featured in O, the Oprah Magazine, Essence, Ladies Home Journal, Cosmopolitan, Seventeen, Good Housekeeping, Harper’s Bazaar, Marie Claire, Redbook Women and Cancer, Cure Magazine and more. She has also been featured on Fox 5, ABC 7, CBS, the Oprah Winfrey Show, Good Morning America and numerous national radio stations. In 2009, Maimah was awarded a L’Oreal Paris’ Woman of Worth award, among others. Maimah is a member of the Lance Armstrong Foundation Young Adult Alliance and the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Advocates in Science program. She is also a National Breast Cancer Coalition Project LEAD graduate and is an active member of other advocacy organizations. In May 2011, she was awarded as one of Running Start’s “Women to Watch”. Most dear to Maimah’s heart is being the mother of a beautiful 8-year old girl, Noelle, whom she adores.
While breast cancer was an unwelcome experience, Maimah would not give back the experience. “I’ve lived more in the past six years than I did the years before, and when I die, I want to know that I made the best use of my “after life” and impacted the lives of as many people as possible.” Maimah is dedicated to changing the breast cancer landscape and creating a legacy of a world free of breast cancer.
Fearless will inspire you and challenge you, but most important it will move you to live your life fearlessly.
You can purchase the book through Amazon or visit www.tigerlilyfoundation.org for more information.