Description:
A powerful meditation on identity and belonging, Sejal Shah explores the tension of being both invisible and hyper-visible in a country that struggles with race. The daughter of immigrants from Indian and Kenya, Shah wrestles with her experiences growing up in--and returning to--western New York, an area of stark racial and socioeconomic segregation. Her work illuminates how we are all marked by family and place; by the limits of our bodies; by our losses and regrets; by who and what we love; by our ambivalences and our silences. This is a book about growing up Indian in non-Indian places, about what it means to be American, South Asian American, a writer of color, and a feminist. Shah considers the implications of being asked where are you from--the geographic and cultural distances between people, how these gaps are imagined and real, constructed and changing. These literary essays will certainly appeal to readers of short stories and poetry as well.
Brief description:
Sejal Shah is a writer, interdisciplinary artist, and teacher. Her debut essay collection, This Is One Way to Dance, was named an NPR Best Book of 2020 and included in over thirty most-anticipated lists including Electric Literature, Lit Hub, the Los Angeles Times, The Millions, Ms. Magazine, PEN America, Self, and others. She is the recipient of a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship in fiction and the author of the forthcoming story collection How to Make Your Mother Cry. Find her online at sejal-shah.com and on Twitter and Instagram at @SejalShahWrites.
Review Quotes:
"One of the most nuanced, wise, and tender portraits of immigration I have ever read."
-- "Kiran Desai, Man Booker Prize-winning author"