A review by fyoosha
Love, InshAllah: The Secret Love Lives of American Muslim Women by Nura Maznavi, Ayesha Mattu
4.0
Obviously I liked this book, given that I finished it in two days. Some stories were definitely better than others. But here's a passage that nearly made me cry:
"The first time I realize I don't have to keep my secret, I am drinking a peppermint mocha and trying not to cry. For fifteen years, I have been afraid there is not enough room in my parents' hearts, in my family, my Iran, or my religion, for my truth. I am no longer the little girl hiding in the closet. Who knew how elastic parents could be? How they could wrap around the largest letdown? Perhaps the rest, too, has more stretch. Perhaps someday, I think, I will, with my own full shape, fit into all the spaces that seem, at first glance, too small for me."
Many of the stories in this book felt so personal to me, but it was this one passage that really hit home. In that vein, I do wish there had been more stories about queer women. That's what I had expected when I started reading this book.
"The first time I realize I don't have to keep my secret, I am drinking a peppermint mocha and trying not to cry. For fifteen years, I have been afraid there is not enough room in my parents' hearts, in my family, my Iran, or my religion, for my truth. I am no longer the little girl hiding in the closet. Who knew how elastic parents could be? How they could wrap around the largest letdown? Perhaps the rest, too, has more stretch. Perhaps someday, I think, I will, with my own full shape, fit into all the spaces that seem, at first glance, too small for me."
Many of the stories in this book felt so personal to me, but it was this one passage that really hit home. In that vein, I do wish there had been more stories about queer women. That's what I had expected when I started reading this book.