his is the story of a child raised in Canada by parents who embraced a puritanical version of Islam to shield them from racism. Chaudhry explores the joys and sorrows of growing up in a fundamentalist Muslim household, wedding grand historical narratives of colonialism and migration to the small intimate heartbreaks of modern life.
In revisiting the beliefs and ideals she was raised with, Chaudhry invites us to reimagine our ideas of self and family, state and citizenship, love and loss.
Ayesha S. Chaudhry was born in Toronto and earned her PhD from New York University. She is the Canada Research Chair in Religion, Law and Social Justice and Associate Professor of Islamic studies and Gender studies at the University of British Columbia.