Samra Habib and Amanda Brugel discuss Canada Reads winner We Have Always Been Here
The Handmaid's Tale and Kim's Convenience actor Amanda Brugel won Canada Reads 2020 defending the memoir We Have Always Been Here by Samra Habib.
Ahead of the debates, the actor and first-time author talked about the challenges of writing a very personal memoir.
The Toronto writer's first book spans continents — from Pakistan to Canada — as Habib describes her long journey through religious persecution, racism and embracing her identity as a queer Muslim woman.
Watch Brugel and Habib's conversation above or read a condensed transcript of their talk below.
Amanda Brugel (AB): Question number one, what inspired you to write this story?
Samra Habib (SH): I like to think that I wrote this story as a love letter to my younger self. For years, I worked on this photo project called Just Me and Allah, where I travelled around the world photographing queer Muslims because I was looking for other people who have experienced Islam the same way I did. A lot of the people were really young. Something I was noticing a lot was that they craved a role model. I thought that maybe by writing this book, I can serve as an example of someone young people can look up to. I find that a lot of times writing that is done about queer Muslims is about a lot of trauma, and obviously that's a very central part of my experience, but I also have a lot of joy and there's also a lot of pleasure involved in being a queer person.
AB: What was your biggest challenge of writing about yourself?
SH: I'm not always comfortable writing about myself. That's why I worked on the photo project. I write a lot about other people. And for this I had to be really vulnerable so I think, for me, the challenging part was doing the work to get to a place where I felt safe being vulnerable and for that to happen a lot of things had to be just right. I had to unpack a lot that I had hidden away in order to survive. I feel like this is a thing that happens to a lot of people who experience trauma. In order to survive and move forward, you need to march ahead and you don't necessarily deal with the traumatic experiences that you've had. But while I was writing the book, I thought that I was ready to unpack that. In order for me to do that I had to do a lot of work, whether it was having discussions with my mom, being in therapy.
I like to think that I wrote this story as a love letter to my younger self.- Samra Habib
AB: You mentioned several sessions of therapy, that's what helped you recall memories from the past, which is amazing. I also think it's a huge incentive for people to go to therapy. What has the reaction to the book been like?
SH: It's been really positive. I don't know if I'm jinxing myself, but my siblings are really proud of me. And it's really interesting — I mentioned earlier that I thought my audience would be young queer Muslims, which is why I'm always delighted and surprised when someone who I did not at all think would be my audience comes up to me and shares that the book really resonated with them. Like, older women who have been married forever and are in their 70s. I'm always really surprised and delighted. I feel like as a writer it is our job to be observers and echo what everyone else is feeling so perhaps I've done an effective job at creating a universal experience.
AB: I think you have. Just even as a woman alone reading it, it's informative. I had no idea what it was like to grow up Muslim and just the role that women have. The first few chapters were staggering to me. The idea that your mother had her name legally changed by your father and wasn't informed until the change became effective. I think there are so many women, regardless of whether or not they've had their husbands legally change their name, they've felt they did not have power or were accessories or appendages to the family unit. That, to me, will resonate with a massive audience of female readers.
I love the idea that I'm going to share with the audience to take away that there's still a beautiful amount of hope and joy and happiness in every experience.- Amanda Brugel
SH: Thank you.
AB: You're welcome. Samra, thank you very much for the chat. It gave me a tremendous amount of insight. I'm glad I got the pointers because I'm going to need everything that I get. I love the idea that I'm going to share with the audience to take away that there's still a beautiful amount of hope and joy and happiness in every experience.
The Canada Reads 2020 contenders
- Alayna Fender defending Small Game Hunting at the Local Coward Gun Club by Megan Gail Coles
- Akil Augustine defending Radicalized by Cory Doctorow
- Amanda Brugel defending We Have Always Been Here by Samra Habib
- Kaniehtiio Horn defending Son of a Trickster by Eden Robinson
- George Canyon defending From the Ashes by Jesse Thistle
