I’ve been absolutely terrible at keeping this blog updated. So here’s me updating it with a post about a book I’m very proud to be part of alongside these remarkable authors and editors.
In so many ways, this book hadn’t felt real until our launch event in London a week ago. When I first discussed the essay with Zahed, Dhruva and Tara two years ago, we were in the terror phase of the early pandemic. Everything I thought about writing felt both futile one day, essential the next. I am grateful to them as editors for shepherding me through that early confusion and helping me craft an essay I am proud of.
A lot of people asked me about that essay, entitled The Shallows, during the launch I told them it was my interpretation of the theme of fracture. How I had always thought my competing identities only meant I was confused about where I should live, until I found out they affected my sleep, my paranoia about Airbnbs and ultimately my breathing. This essay is about how I discovered I had never breathed properly my whole life. It’s about mental health and the superhuman efforts we all ultimately make just to function.
I am lucky to be featured in the anthology alongside so many brilliant young Middle Eastern and South Asian writers. I haven’t confirmed, but I might be the elder of the group as I barrel towards 40. They are the future, and I feel thankful to add my voice to theirs.
The idea for the anthology was that we are only asked for our voice in UK society and publishing when it is topical. When it is linked to current affairs. This book was a space to just take a moment to say what we wanted to say away from that manufactured urgency. A moment to breathe, really. I will forever be grateful for it.
HARAMACY is available wherever you get your books. Published by Unbound Books, 2022.
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