'A masterful, must-read contribution to conversations on power, justice, healing, and devotion from a singular voice I now trust with my whole heart' - Glennon Doyle, author of Untamed
When Lamya is fourteen, she decides to disappear.
It seems easier to ease herself out of sight than to grapple with the difficulty of taking shape in a world that doesn't fit. She is a queer teenager growing up in a Muslim household, a South Asian in a Middle Eastern country. But during her Quran class, she reads a passage about Maryam, and suddenly everything shifts: if Maryam was never touched by any man, could Maryam be... like Lamya?
Written with deep intelligence and a fierce humour, Hijab Butch Blues follows Lamya as she travels to the United States, as she comes out, and as she navigates the complexities of the immigration system - and the queer dating scene. At each step, she turns to her faith to make sense of her life, weaving stories from the Quran together with her own experiences: Musa leading his people to freedom; Allah, who is neither male nor female; and Nuh, who built an ark, just as Lamya is finally able to become the architect of her own story.
Raw and unflinching, Hijab Butch Blues heralds the arrival of a truly original voice, asking powerful questions about gender and sexuality, relationships, identity and faith, and what it means to build a life of one's own.
About the Author
Lamya H is a former Lambda Literary Fellow whose writing has appeared in Vice, Salon, Vox, Black Girl Dangerous, Autostraddle, and the Los Angeles Review of Books. She currently lives in New York with her partner.
Industry Reviews
'A masterful, must-read contribution to conversations on power, justice, healing, and devotion from a singular voice I now trust with my whole heart, Lamya H.'s gorgeously written and life-affirming debut Hijab Butch Blues traces the intertwining of faith and doubt, and invites us all to a deeper, more loving way to live' -- Glennon Doyle, author of UNTAMED
'With a supple skill, Hijab Butch Blues treats gender and devotion with a thrilling sense of multiplicity and expansiveness. This is a book attentive to the fullness of being human. Among the meshes of power and orthodoxy, Lamya H. moves with curiosity, humour and vulnerability, divining new sources of hope and of life.' -- Sen Hewitt, author of ALL DOWN DARKNESS WIDE
'A singular memoir about identity, queerness, racism and resistance which engages with the Islamic faith in open, nuanced and quietly radical ways. I love Lamya's intimate, intelligent and honest voice' -- Arifa Akbar, author of CONSUMED
'A gracefully-wrought memoir about the importance of community, faith and family in a world that is so often unwilling to accept and celebrate each of us in our beautiful complexity' -- Eleanor Bally ? Skinny
'Exploring the strength and stories of the Quran that inform her own experience and celebrating how we move forwards to accept different viewpoints and ideas while telling the tale of her life, this is a brilliant read to savour' -- Francesca Brown ? Stylist
'A moving reconciliation of identity and faith' -- Katie Goh ? i-D Magazine
