A really entertaining, fun and yet educational read that allowed me to stand in the shoes of a western Muslim who grew up in London and travelled the world.

I used to call this site weird marginalia. I did this because I thought that the best art and ideas came from the Margins or borders, the borders between genres, identities, and cultures.

The author of this work agrees. He argues that his life has been one of constant border crossing. His identity crossed many cultures, races and ethnic groups. His job as a global policy advisor means that he has to cross many borders. This crossing of borders, and his multiple placements along these borders, has given him a unique lens with which to see the world.

Starting his story with the events of 9/11, he explores the growing levels of hostility faced by Muslims in the Western world. He explores this issue by utilising: his own experience and through an examination of wider social factors in which his experiences are embedded.

This book is an emotional work, especially when the author speaks of his encounters with the border officials in several countries.

The author argues that his unique insights have given him a unique starting point to create policy.

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy. It bothered me that this memoir was not really written in chronological order, from what I could tell--there were many flashbacks embedded within stories. The author balances discussions of racism from all different cultures, picking the best from different cultures instead of picking one camp over the other, and sticking to faith rather than culture. Many times I was tempted to forgo finishing the book, but I am happy that I continued to the end. I found many gems of wisdom, while skipping the parts that were not interesting to me. I think a timeline and a map of all the places Chowdhury traveled to would have been a great addition. I did not believe some of the anecdotes in the story (it doesn't seem plausible to me that all of these things would happen). While written for an adult audience, this would even be a great book for any young adult immigrant or anyone being raised in a different culture than one's ethnic origins.