We Have Always Been Here

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What to expect

A powerful, uplifting queer Muslim memoir by a young Pakistani-Canadian activist and photographer.

Triumphant and uplifting - a queer Muslim memoir about forgiveness and freedom.

A memoir of hope, faith and love, Samra Habib's story starts with growing up as part of a threatened minority sect in Pakistan, and follows her arrival in Canada as a refugee, before escaping an arranged marriage at sixteen. When she realized she was queer, it was yet another way she felt like an outsider.

So begins a journey that takes her to the far reaches of the globe to uncover a truth that was within her all along. It shows how Muslims can embrace queer sexuality, and families can embrace change. A triumphant story of forgiveness and freedom, We Have Always Been Here is a rallying cry for anyone who has ever felt alone and a testament to the power of fearlessly inhabiting one's truest self.

(P) 2019 Quercus Editions Limited

Critics Review

To say I count, I exist, is revolutionary when you are denied complication. Habib has written the book she wished she had when she was young. It is a book we should all have had long ago
Mona Eltahawy, author of Headscarves and Hymens
A beautiful telling of a life, of love, of the reclamation of power, of feeling truly seen, and of finding your way home. An exquisite, powerful, and urgent book
Stacey May Fowles, author of Infidelity
I fell in love with this book . . . In prose as economical, crisp, clear, and truthful as poetry, Samra Habib offers a map of how we might learn to see and treasure one another and ourselves
Shani Mootoo, author of Cereus Blooms at Night
Habib speaks for a community that has often been muted, but writes with a voice and style that is all her own
Rachel Giese, author of Boys
A testament to the power of storytelling, self, and reclaiming our own narratives, We Have Always Been Here is a fantastic memoir. I felt as I turned each page as if I were walking beside Samra as she told me each step of the story. A commitment to testimony, to telling our own stories in our own ways, resonates at its core, as well as love - for people, for community, for self.
Nadine Aisha Jassat, author of Let Me Tell You This
A fiercely intelligent memoir
NB Magazine
Thoughtful and compassionate...deeply invested in a passion for life and the pursuit of personal
Diva Magazine

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