I loved this, as a white reader I’m unable to comment on whether it’s an accurate reflection of Muslim, Desi feelings, culture etc, but I do know it was a great read. It’s interesting, empowering and full of character, I particularly loved the fact there was a focus on mental health as well as looking at race, gender, education, love, marriage and sexuality to name a few subjects. This is a must read for South Asian girls, but all girls should read this

Brown Girl Like me is an informative, thought-provoking read delivered in an expository non fiction style.

It does much to educate the reader and delve deep into stereotypes and taboos.

A good read.

What's the book about?
In this urgent and timely guide to empowerment, Jaspreet Kaur unpacks every aspect of intersectional identity for South Asian women and girls, from the media to mental health, and from the workplace to the body.


My thoughts:
I am so glad that I was able to read this book. Everything about this felt so relatable, and I felt such a deep and personal connection to everything Kaur says. What I've loved the most is how much of the book is dedicated to mental health. I also appreciate Kaur's ability to cover and pack in such a wide range of issues affecting the South Asian community. The only thing I wish there were more of were details about other women's experiences.

Jaspreet Kaur writes a blend of feminist memoir, guidebook, advice, reseach, and manifesto for brown girls and women from South Asia whilst simultaneously providing a range of personal experiences when it comes to critical issues such as race, gender, family, education, love, marriage, sexuality, on being a British Asian, the social norms and attitudes, and culture. I have no doubt many Asian women and girls will find this useful, packed full of advice, whilst countering the loneliness often felt until they realise what has happened to them is so often widespread, with challenges and pressures coming from within their own communities, families and the outside world. Kaur suggests ways of bringing up brown girls to be confident, resilient feminists with the agency to direct their lives as they want so they can be happier and more fulfilled.

There is a considerable focus on mental health, Kaur relates suffering from panic attacks and depression, enduring an abusive relationship, how she found relief from writing about her thoughts and feelings in a journal and from poetry, whilst others talk of benefiting from sport and other extra curricular activities. There is great stigma attached to mental illnesses that can curtail the possibility of marriage and its a label that can stick, there is often little awareness of issues such as postpartum depression in communities. Key is having someone you can talk with who you trust, not keeping stresses bottled up and the need for research that provides data for formulating appropriate mental health strategies. There is an examination of education, stereotyping and perceptions of limited agency when it comes to brown girls, the constant microaggressions, and the lack of support measures to help them apply to the top universities.

Kaur dwells on how useful social media and the internet has been in connecting the brown sisterhood, leading to friendships, sharing experiences, creating dialogues, giving rise to collaborations, campaigning and activism, and powering careers that previously would have been unthinkable. She points out the sad fact that there exists the dark side of the online world, the bullying, abuse, threats of rape and death, the bigotry and the misogyny. Whilst I think this is a terrific read, I do think it could have been better organised and a little more academic rigour could have been applied, it is covering so many areas that inevitably some can only be touched on at a superficial level, whilst it could have been more clearly underlined just how huge and diverse the brown communities are. Additionally, I would have liked to have seen more inclusion at greater length and depth of the personal experiences of women on the themes covered in this book. Overall, I think this is a great book that many brown women and girls will find helpful. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

Brown Girl Like Me

Another book that’s actually reinforced the way I think about things is Brown Girl Like Me by Jaspreet Kaur. I liked the cover to be honest and also I’d started hearing rumblings about this book and how it was like a handbook for us brown girls. But now I’ve read it - it’s far more than that. It’s an opening of identity and acceptance - which many women from South Asian backgrounds often have trouble with - people don’t know where we fit in. Often because we don’t fit in. Because we’re not all the same; because of intersectionality.

This is a brilliant read whatever race, colour, creed - this is a book about putting brown girls on the map; about realising that the term is an empowering one but also one that encompasses the differences we all have. Kaur’s writing resonated with me and I messaged her (partially joking) on Twitter to wonder where she had been when I’d ended up in majority white spaces (educational and work environments where differences weren’t necessarily celebrated by peers) and been treated like an anomaly.

But honestly this really is an amazing book. It involves interviews with many other women about their experiences and Kaur weaves in personal narrative in-between. I’d definitely recommend reading this.

I've been following Jaspreet Kaur on Instagram for a couple of years, and seeing her upcoming release, Brown Girl Like Me, filled me with excitement.
I was over the moon to be able to read an advance copy.
Being a Brown Girl, and especially a British-born Brown Girl, it has always been hard to find ourselves out there, in anything other than stereotypical roles, via a novel, or on film and in TV series.
Brown Girl Like Me is a great attempt at pulling together all the feelings that we may have encountered through our lives, from the lack of strong role models to not being understood in myriad circumstances.
It is certainly not a quick and easy read. Something to sit, read, digest and savour.
Personally, for me, it made me realise that I am lucky. There were many instances Kaur wrote about situations that I hadn't experienced, but there were so many of her personal stories that resonated with me.
I have always had a lot of support and openness within my family, where we were able to speak out about pretty much anything.
But yes, I will always be that Brown Girl, and I am bringing one up, too, who I hope will be a strong Brown Girl in herself, who knows there is a strong Brown Girl right behind her, too.
There is also cause to celebrate our culture, customs and backgrounds, and reasons to ensure we stay proud and remember that w might be Brown, but our heritage has more colour in it than many others.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for an ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

"Isn't it up to us to define who the brown woman is or isn't, rather than anyone else?"
Whilst reading this book, I felt as if I was reading a very lengthy newspaper article. Content wise, the author has everything covered; mental health, education, microaggressions, menstruation and colourism were just some of the topics that were discussed but her writing lacks impact. Kaur interviewed and quoted many people whilst discussing these topics. I appreciate the fact that she was able to interview all these wonderful women, however, I think she relied too heavily on their quotes, experiences and opinions for subject matter.
I wish that I had learnt something new from reading this, As the author seemed to concentrate on the negatives rather than the positives, this book didn't leave me with a sense of positivity and empowerment. Instead it left me bored.

Normally I love books like this but for some reason I couldn’t get into it. I picked it up and put it down so many times that it left me frustrated. Something just felt a little odd.