We Have Always Been Here

"A queer Muslim searches for the language to express her truest self, making peace with her sexuality, her family, and I... (more)

"A queer Muslim searches for the language to express her truest self, making peace with her sexuality, her family, and Islam. Growing up in Pakistan, Samra Habib lacks a blueprint for the life she wants. She has a mother who gave up everything to be a pious, dutiful wife and an overprotective father who seems to conspire against a life of any adventure. Plus, she has to hide the fact that she's Ahmadi to avoid persecution from religious extremists. As the threats against her family increase, they seek refuge in Canada, where new financial and cultural obstacles await them. When Samra discovers that her mother has arranged her marriage, she must again hide a part of herself--the fun-loving, feminist teenager that has begun to bloom--until she simply can't any longer. So begins a journey of self-discovery that takes her to Tokyo, where she comes to terms with her sexuality, and to a queer-friendly mosque in Toronto, where she returns to her faith in the same neighbourhood where she attended her first drag show. Along the way, she learns that the facets of her identity aren't as incompatible as she was led to believe, and that her people had always been there--the world just wasn't ready for them yet."-- (less)

The behavioral psychologist onboard a survey ship headed to a planet ripe for colonization, Dr. Grace Park must determin... (more)

The behavioral psychologist onboard a survey ship headed to a planet ripe for colonization, Dr. Grace Park must determine the origin of a strange phenomenon that is causing the crew to suffer mental breaks without losing her own mind in the process. (less)

How do you find yourself when the world tells you that you don't exist?Samra Habib has spent most of her life searching ... (more)

How do you find yourself when the world tells you that you don't exist?Samra Habib has spent most of her life searching for the safety to be herself. As an Ahmadi Muslim growing up in Pakistan, she faced regular threats from Islamic extremists who believed the small, dynamic sect to be blasphemous. From her parents, she internalized the lesson that revealing her identity could put her in grave danger.When her family came to Canada as refugees, Samra encountered a whole new host of challenges: bullies, racism, the threat of poverty, and an arranged marriage. Backed into a corner, her need for a safe space — in which to grow and nurture her creative, feminist spirit — became dire. The men in her life wanted to police her, the women in her life had only shown her the example of pious obedience, and her body was a problem to be solved.So begins an exploration of faith, art, love, and queer sexuality, a journey that takes her to the far reaches of the globe to uncover a truth that was within her all along. A triumphant memoir of forgiveness and family, both chosen and not, We Have Always Been Here is a rallying cry for anyone who has ever felt out of place and a testament to the power of fearlessly inhabiting one's truest self. (less)

Psychologist Dr. Grace Park is on the Deucalion, a survey ship headed to an icy planet in an unexplored galaxy. She is t... (more)

Psychologist Dr. Grace Park is on the Deucalion, a survey ship headed to an icy planet in an unexplored galaxy. She is to observe the thirteen human crew members aboard the ship as they assess the colonization potential of the planet, Eos. Frictions develop as Park befriends the androids of the ship, preferring their company over the baffling complexity of humans, while the rest of the crew treats them with suspicion and even outright hostility. Shortly after landing, the crew finds themselves trapped on the ship by a radiation storm, with no means of communication or escape until it passes. Now the humans are falling prey to waking nightmares of helpless, tongueless insanity. The androids are behaving strangely. Park is forced to confront the fact that her crew, their mission, mysterious Eos itself... nothing is as it seems. -- adapted from jacket. (less)

Psychologist Dr. Grace Park is on the Deucalion, a survey ship headed to an icy planet in an unexplored galaxy. She is t... (more)

Psychologist Dr. Grace Park is on the Deucalion, a survey ship headed to an icy planet in an unexplored galaxy. She is to observe the thirteen human crew members aboard the ship as they assess the colonization potential of the planet, Eos. Frictions develop as Park befriends the androids of the ship, preferring their company over the baffling complexity of humans, while the rest of the crew treats them with suspicion and even outright hostility. Shortly after landing, the crew finds themselves trapped on the ship by a radiation storm, with no means of communication or escape until it passes. Now the humans are falling prey to waking nightmares of helpless, tongueless insanity. The androids are behaving strangely. Park is forced to confront the fact that her crew, their mission, mysterious Eos itself... nothing is as it seems. -- adapted from jacket. (less)