Surviving Paris

A Memoir of Healing in the City of Light

By: Robin Allison Davis

Narrated by: Robin Allison Davis

A deeply personal account of a young Black woman who set out to shake up her life by moving abroad but got a lot more than she bargained for.

Surviving Paris is not Emily in Paris. It’s not a story of moving to the City of Light, meeting a dashing Frenchman, and raising beret-wearing enfants. It is not a romantic fantasy. It is a true story about a young, Black single woman and what happens when your Paris dream turns into a Paris nightmare.

After more than a decade as a journalist and television producer, Robin Allison Davis decided to shake up her life and move to France. But it wasn’t quite the life she expected. When she was just thirty-four, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Surviving Paris recounts her journey from diagnosis through multiple surgeries to surviving the strictest Covid-19 lockdowns, only to be told her cancer had come back—and how she got to finding herself healthy again, including all the detours in between.

While this book is about cancer, it’s not just about survival. It's a love story about cancer. It's a story about Robin's love of adventure, her love of love, and her love for herself. Grounded yet irreverent, informative and anecdotal, Surviving Paris has laughter, sorrow, and some unforgettable cringe-worthy moments. It also has courage, surprises, and remarkable depths of heart.

Robin writes about the struggles of finding her community and family away from home, dating on Tinder with one boob, and learning to be the best advocate for her medical care in a culture she doesn't completely understand, and that doesn’t understand her. Surviving Paris details the good, the bad, and the ugly of expatriating to Paris and one American woman’s unexpected and often hilarious journey—and her precious second chance at life.

Il faut vivre!

If I could sum this book up into a single theme, Resilience would be the most fitting. One would have to be resilient to make it through all that the author endured. What began as a young professional following her dream of living abroad became a saga of survival. Robin Allison Davis—journalist turned international student turned cancer survivor—paints a vivid picture of life in Paris as person with limited French, bad luck with apartments, low paying jobs, and more than one shocking cancer diagnosis. Add a global pandemic to the mix for some extra flavor. Robin had to navigate the French healthcare system mostly on her own , but it was beautiful how her family and friends were able to offer their support in various ways. This was a memoir I couldn’t put down. It illustrates just how Life is always gonna Life, even if you “do everything right”. So do that thing and follow your dreams. Thanks to Robin for sharing her story!

Must Listen!

Robin took us on a rollercoaster of a journey in the most beautiful way! Must listen, must read!