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A Pebble In The Throat
SHORTLISTED FOR SCOTLAND’S NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR NON-FICTION
‘I loved this book … incredibly moving’ Reverend Richard Coles
‘A treasure of a book’ Fern Britton
The heart-warming memoir from the much-loved broadcaster
A Pebble in the Throat is the coming of age story of Aasmah Mir’s childhood growing up in 1970s Glasgow. From a vivacious child to a teenage loner, Aasmah candidly shares the highs and lows of growing up between two cultures – trying to fit in at school and retreating to the safe haven of a home inhabited by her precious but distant little brother and Helen, her family’s Glaswegian guardian angel.
Intricately woven into this moving memoir is the story of Aasmah’s mother, as we follow her own life as a young girl in 1950s Pakistan to 1960s Scotland and beyond. Both mother and daughter fight, are defeated and triumph in different battles in this sharp and moving story. A Pebble in the Throat is a remarkable memoir about family, identity and finding yourself where you are.
‘I loved this book … incredibly moving’ Reverend Richard Coles
‘A treasure of a book’ Fern Britton
The heart-warming memoir from the much-loved broadcaster
A Pebble in the Throat is the coming of age story of Aasmah Mir’s childhood growing up in 1970s Glasgow. From a vivacious child to a teenage loner, Aasmah candidly shares the highs and lows of growing up between two cultures – trying to fit in at school and retreating to the safe haven of a home inhabited by her precious but distant little brother and Helen, her family’s Glaswegian guardian angel.
Intricately woven into this moving memoir is the story of Aasmah’s mother, as we follow her own life as a young girl in 1950s Pakistan to 1960s Scotland and beyond. Both mother and daughter fight, are defeated and triumph in different battles in this sharp and moving story. A Pebble in the Throat is a remarkable memoir about family, identity and finding yourself where you are.
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Reviews
I loved this book partly because Aasmah Mir has such a good way with detail that she can with conjure Glasgow in the 80s or Pakistan in the 60s so vividly and economically it's like looking at snapshots in a photo album; but what I loved most were the moments when you sense her - and her mother - understanding that the world and their place in it is not what was advertised and they are going to have to work and sometimes fight to secure that place. I found it incredibly moving and it made me think and rethink how the narratives that shape who we are and how we fit in are not givens but negotiations and always up for revision.
Young Aasmah bursts into life in this lovingly evoked portrait of a Scottish childhood, complicated by the challenge to fit in when the shade of your skin seemingly sets you apart. Exuberant warm funny and wise, just like its author
An exquisite memoir, revealing how the wheels of progress have turned across two generations - but how they have also got very stuck. It is at times heart-breaking and poignant but also so very funny and clever and full of small moments that you want to pause and reread.
A Pebble in The Throat will leave your heart in your mouth.
Writing about a culture that values compliance in women and encourages silence, Aasmah Mir's book does the exact opposite.
Moving between her and her mother's life, it reveals parts of the Pakistani immigrant experience that are rarely seen on our bookshelves. Aasmah's raw, and honest account of her family life will blow you away!
I will be thinking of Aasmah's story for a very long time. She writes with such richness of her life, such detail of her time at school and the love for her young brother. This book will resonate with many people no matter that they be Christian or Muslim, British or Pakistani. A treasure of a book.
Full of beauty, wit and inner strength, this unique dual voiced memoir moved me deeply. Aasmah Mir's childhood may have been bittersweet but her writing, like her broadcasting, is pure gold
Honest and powerful
A gorgeous book about family and identity
Evocative and vivid
An incredible memoir on culture and finding your voice that will stay with you long after you have read it
An uplifting story
An interwoven tale of love, loss and life in Glasgow and Pakistan across multiple generations