Thursday, July 23, 2020

We Have Always Been Here - Samra Habib - Part 3 of 4

2020 Reading Challenge - Day 203
July 23, 2020

Book 56 - We Have Always Been Here
Samra Habib
 Part 3 - pages 106-148
Reading Time - 60 minutes

After moving in with her boyfriend from high school, Samra reconnects with her Mom whose biggest concern is that Samra is in "sin" so to speak. Samra and her boyfriend get married, mostly to keep her mother happy. Sex with her now-husband was "meh" and Samra rather thought she might be asexual.

After university, Samra started to identify herself as queer even though she was still married to her husband. She began to feel the weight of the burden of hiding her authentic self and eventually broke up with her husband.

While working for an ad agency, she booked a holiday to Japan, a country she had always wanted to visit, and it was really there that she embraced her queerness.

As a lesbian who came out later in life (early 30s), I identified with different aspects of Samra's story. While the circumstances are different, the "hiding my authentic self" bit rings true.

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