While I enjoyed learning about Ms. Habib and would love to see her photography, I would not say this book was much of an exploration as stated in the summary. For despite being presented as a memoir, I felt it was much more of an objective stating of the facts of Ms. Habib's life and generalized information about difficulties in the Pakistan and Muslim cultures, I did not feel like I finished this book knowing Ms. Habib. While this disconnect might be due to her need to protect herself, it does a disservice in a memoir.

I feel so lucky to have gotten a galley for this book. We could all do with hearing more LGBTQ+ voices, and Habib writes powerfully about her experiences. A stunning memoir I am excited to recommend.

Magnifique témoignage de Samra Habib sur sa vie au Pakistan puis au Canada. J'ai trouvé fort pertinent la lecture de cet ouvrage, où la perception d'une jeune femme de couleur, queer et musulmane s'exprime ouvertement sur ses expériences de la vie. Je recommande chaudement pour tous!

Samra was born and raised in Pakistan but then moved with her family to Toronto as refugees. She is suddenly faced with a world so different than what she knew and so much more than she thought the world could offer.

Samra ends up escaping an arranged marriage and finding a tribe of people that help her discover who she is and how she can reconcile her queerness and her faith.

This is a beautiful memoir. It took me a little bit to get into it but once I did I was enthralled. Samra wrote about her life in such a real and touching way and in a way that makes you want to read more and it tells a story that is different than a lot of the stories out there

Samra Habib has written a powerful story about her experience as a queer Muslim woman. She documents both the facets of each individual identity and the way that they react. She is not afraid to talk about the areas in which she made mistakes but also provides hope by demonstrating how she handled each situation.

We Have Always Been Here: A Queer Muslim Memoir
by Samra Habib
due 6-4-2019
Viking
5.0 / 5.0

Samra Habibś journey of self-discovery, while remaining loyal to her deep religious beliefs, is stunning and emotional and revealing. It made me re-consider my thoughts on Islam, organized religion and social privilege.

Samra shares her childhood in Pakistan, growing up in a climate of fear, feeling like an outsider because of her families belief and following of the Ahmadi Movement. It was legal to torture and kill Ahmadi followers by the Sunniś. Her belief in Muhammad has been important to her throughout her life. In 1991, She immigrated to Canada, moving into an apt complex that had other Ahmadi families, but few were Pakistani and she felt very alone.

Samra married twice before realizing she may be queer, Once was an arranged marriage to a first cousin. Until she met other gay people, the possibility of being gay never occurred to her. She realized her sexual identity when it became visible to her. Visibility is so important and essential.

Samra Habibś novel reminds how important allowing all people visibility, all people equal opportunity and all people with respect and dignity. Habib reminds us how human we all are. Itś how humane we treat each other that truly separates us. Highly recommended novel.
Thanks to Random House/Canada, Samra Habib and net galley for this e-book ARC for a fair and honest review.
#netgalley #WeHaveAlwaysBeenHere

There were moments during this book that I felt a little bit nervous (like any time the author mentioned trans people), but overall this was a beautiful portrayal of self-discovery. I have read a lot about queer Christians, but to read about the author's relationship with Islam forced me to confront my attitudes towards organized religion in a way I hadn't before.
That said, it also confuses me that there was a lot of time spent on the struggles of poverty, but it seems to me that once Habib was in a more stable financial situation, we no longer got to understand how she was able to afford so many trips abroad, for example. I think a more honest account of people's financial situations -- especially creative people -- would be valuable.

We Have Always Been Here is a brave memoir by Samra Habib. She is a Pakistani woman who moved to Canada. She also identifies as queer. There are a lot of unique attributes about Habib that make this such an unusual book. I though Habib's story and wrestle for freedom, was fascinating. But I also think that the end felt rushed and didn't match the pace of the beginning.

We Have Always Been Here is a memoir that follows Samra from her childhood in Pakistan to arriving in Canada for a better life. Betrothed to her older cousin, there is a conflict between how she is expected to act and how she feels in these new surroundings. Although I knew this was a queer memoir when I requested it, I kind of forgot when I started reading it and found the book took an unexpected twist. It's a subject I don't think I've read much about before and I found it really interesting to see how her faith complimented her queerness. Would definitely recommend!

You Have Always Been Here, A Queer Muslim Memoir by Samra Habib 5 ⭐️ Read (more then 5 in my mind and my heart) this was the best read yet of 2019 for me and I’ve read 12 books.⁣
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I discovered Samra Sabib through netgalley, I saw the description and cover for this book and thought I need an ARC of this ASAP. I was so lucky that Penguin Random House Canada decided I was deserving. ⁣
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First off how am I Canadian and did not know who Samra Sabib was , after reading this book she is a legend in my eyes. Normally I’d be saying I was ashamed because I hadn’t heard her but she taught me there is no shame. Her writing is eloquent and raw and so real. ⁣
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This book literally cut me open and bled me dry. Now I can bleed better blood, authentic blood because that’s what she does to you. The book just pours out authenticity and I am so better for reading it. ⁣
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I’ve learned so much from these pages about Pakistan and Muslim culture. I felt so much sadness for the difficulty’s faced and compassion for the resilience. I felt so ashamed that islamaphobia is even a thing in our society in this modern world. ⁣
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I felt as a person who identifies as queer, so validated even tho I am not Muslim. This book was a safe space. This book told me I’m queer enough even if I love a man. ⁣
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If you like reading about authentic people with the power to change lives - this is for you.