How do you find yourself when the world tells you that you don't exist?
SAMRA HABIB is a writer, photographer, and activist. As a journalist she's covered topics ranging from Muslim fashion trends and dating apps to the rise of Islamophobia in the US. Her portraits have been exhibited at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and are part of the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives' permanent collection. She works with LGBTQ organizations internationally, raising awareness of issues that impact queer Muslims around the world. We Have Always Been Here is her first book.
NATIONAL BESTSELLER
WINNER of Canada Reads 2020
WINNER of the 2020 Lambda Literary Award
Shortlisted for the 2020 Edna Staebler Award for Creative
Non-Fiction
Longlisted for the 2020 RBC Taylor Prize
Longlisted for the 2020 Toronto Book Award
Praise for We Have Always Been Here:
“We Have Always Been Here challenges so many received wisdoms on
gender, faith and sexuality that its very existence in the world is
cause for celebration.”
—The Globe and Mail
“Habib writes through a lens of compassion, hope, and ever-widening
circles of understanding.”
—Quill and Quire
“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. In this
way it calls to mind the works of James Baldwin, Langston Hughes,
and Jane Rule. I predict that this book will never go out of
print—it will become required and desired reading for people of all
ages, persuasions, and backgrounds. How I wish I had had it to keep
close to my heart when I was younger.”
—Shani Mootoo, author of Cereus Blooms at Night
“A brave coming-of-age account . . . A heartfelt act of
resistance for queer Muslims and progressive Islam everywhere.”
—Literary Review of Canada
“Gutting and redemptive, We Have Always Been Here is the story of
one [person’s] path to self-determination against every odd.
Habib’s voice is sensual and mesmerizing, [their] talent fierce and
necessary. A transformative reading experience . . . Habib’s every
word lifts off the page, vital and bright as a match being
struck.”
—Claudia Dey, author of Heartbreaker
“Powerful . . . We Have Always Been Here is a portrait of a
[person] who eventually does find the key to . . . [their]
identity.”
—Toronto Star
“I could not put down this drama of crossing borders, both external
and interior, that teaches us to look into ourselves more deeply
and to see others with more empathy. This book is a gift in a
historical moment of many struggles, and we are lucky to share
Habib’s generous and courageous story. I will be giving everyone I
know this book!”
—Kim Echlin, author of The Disappeared
“A memoir of coming of age and coming out told in rich detail.
Samra Habib’s account of growing up queer and Muslim in Pakistan
and Canada is at once searching and tender.”
—Rachel Giese, author of Boys: What It Means to Become a Man
“Samra Habib’s memoir unfolds like a pre-digital photograph
developing before our eyes. The identities [they] carries lovingly
and with pride insist we revere a complication for so long denied.
To say I count, I exist, is revolutionary when you are denied
complication. Habib has written the book [they] wished [they] had
when [they were] young. It is a book we should all have had long
ago.”
—Mona Eltahawy, author of Headscarves and Hymens: Why the Middle
East Needs a Sexual Revolution
“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
“A poignantly told memoir about a life fiercely lived.”
—Kirkus Reviews
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