A Glasgow Girl

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What to expect

A fascinating and emotive narrative capturing the journey many second-generation Britons have travelled from the familial bonds of their parents' countries to establishing a life and identity for themselves in the United Kingdom.

A Pebble In The Throat is two stories told in unison. Aasmah Mir growing up in Glasgow - the place of her birth - and the upbringing of her mother in Pakistan a generation before. It is an emotional and thought-provoking narrative on what it is like to live in two very different cultures whilst all the time aware of racism, prejudice and stereotyping of gender from the 1960s onwards.

A Pebble In The Throat captures life from the lens of a little girl, teenage loner, and grown-up student leaving the safety of home - a witness, sitting on the edge of two cultures, describing what it means to be striving for acceptance in one whilst attempting to fulfil expectations in the other. It will capture the essence of life as a Pakistani in Glasgow and bring vividly to life the one character who shaped her childhood - her mother - who gave her the confidence to seize life and find her voice.

(P) 2023 Headline Publishing Group Ltd

Critics Review

Full of beauty, wit and inner strength, this unique dual voiced memoir moved me deeply. Aasmah Mir's childhood may have been bittersweet but her writing, like her broadcasting, is pure gold
Samira Ahmed
I will be thinking of Aasmah's story for a very long time. She writes with such richness of her life, such detail of her time at school and the love for her young brother. This book will resonate with many people no matter that they be Christian or Muslim, British or Pakistani. A treasure of a book.
Fern Britton
Honest and powerful
Ian Rankin
An incredible memoir on culture and finding your voice that will stay with you long after you have read it
The Sun
An exquisite memoir, revealing how the wheels of progress have turned across two generations - but how they have also got very stuck. It is at times heart-breaking and poignant but also so very funny and clever and full of small moments that you want to pause and reread.
Fi Glover
I loved this book partly because Aasmah Mir has such a good way with detail that she can with conjure Glasgow in the 80s or Pakistan in the 60s so vividly and economically it's like looking at snapshots in a photo album; but what I loved most were the moments when you sense her - and her mother - understanding that the world and their place in it is not what was advertised and they are going to have to work and sometimes fight to secure that place. I found it incredibly moving and it made me think and rethink how the narratives that shape who we are and how we fit in are not givens but negotiations and always up for revision.
Reverend Richard Coles
Young Aasmah bursts into life in this lovingly evoked portrait of a Scottish childhood, complicated by the challenge to fit in when the shade of your skin seemingly sets you apart. Exuberant warm funny and wise, just like its author
Mariella Frostrup
A Pebble in The Throat will leave your heart in your mouth.

Writing about a culture that values compliance in women and encourages silence, Aasmah Mir's book does the exact opposite.

Moving between her and her mother's life, it reveals parts of the Pakistani immigrant experience that are rarely seen on our bookshelves. Aasmah's raw, and honest account of her family life will blow you away!
Saima Mir
A gorgeous book about family and identity
The i Paper
Evocative and vivid
The Scotsman
An uplifting story
The Sun
An interwoven tale of love, loss and life in Glasgow and Pakistan across multiple generations
The Sunday Times

User Reviews

Book 5.0
Narration 5.0
5.0
5.0
I really enjoyed listening to Aasmah’s story. As a woman from Edinburgh, growing up around the same time, I could identify with lots of what she spoke about, and the Scottish phrasing of things. It was comforting to listen to. I was also conscious however of the assumptions and prejudices Aasmah had to endure, of how things were then, and I suppose must still be to an extent, when you’re in a minority. I did tear up when she described her friend and the shoe, that was powerful.

It was also interesting to hear about the dynamics of her family, both in Scotland and back in Pakistan. What a curmudgeonly lot we humans are and how long we put up with things.

The book ended at a nice point, before Aasmah moved onto the next stage of her life. I looked her up online and I must say, if there was a follow up book I’d like to read or listen to that.
melloyo 22/09/2023

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