Letters from a Muslim Woman Podcast

Happy June, my friends. This week, as a treat for paid subscribers, I wanted to bring you my recently published essay in WAYF journal. You can purchase a digital copy of the whole journal here if you are interested. It’s full of beautiful poems and pieces, including a stunning one by Ambata Kazi . I’ve been eagerly awaiting publication so I could share this piece with you. It’s a segmented essay t...

A couple of weeks ago, the boys and I had an epic sleepover in the basement while M was away. We inflated the air mattress, draping bedsheets over it to make a fort from one side of the room to the other. We brought down blankets and sweet and salty popcorn and a bowl of jelly beans and sour peaches. Then, we watched a cheesy Will Ferrell musical and sang karaoke, belting our songs out at full vol...

A couple of weeks ago, Soraya, Baba and I took a trip the Grand Canyon. I’ve written about Soraya’s wanderlust before, and about my lack of it, but I’m grateful to her for inviting me along on the short trips. For dropping an itinerary at my feet that is too tempting to resist and dragging me along to see the world’s wonders. We were in and out in 4 days: landing in Phoenix, driving north through...

The day we brought our baby home from the hospital nearly 14 years ago, I felt like I was wading through water. The air itself was thick and viscous. Exhaustion had descended so that people’s voices seemed to travel through a tunnel to reach me. M and my mom were carrying my bags and the car seat, respectively. I was carrying my weak body and unsettled heart. We had left our 18th floor apartment t...

The day before school started again last week, D and I went out for long, languid bike ride. The weather was perfect, just a hint of cool in the air, and a bright, clear sky with loads of sun. We only had an hour or two, so we headed south through Little Italy to Dow’s Lake, took the route by the Rideau Canal, circled through downtown and headed home. D mostly rode ahead of me, too tall for his bi...

My mother and I send each other voice notes crossing oceans and time zonesmessages sent in the early morning in the westand received late at nightin the east. I know we haven’t talked in days, I might say I just wanted to tell you I’m thinking of you, I just want you to hear my voice to think of you listening to my voice. The messages are a blend of English and Arabic — my English and her Arabic m...

If you enjoyed this post, hit that 🤍 button to help me reach more people. Thx! How to Spot a Girl-Family I grew up in a family of sisters, the third of four girls. Then my husband and I had two boys. The world looks different when you go from girl-sister to boy-mom. Today I’m exploring life as a girl-sister through vignettes of my born family. In a later essay, I’ll write about life as a boy-mom....

I am looking at my face in the bathroom mirror at 5:45 on Wednesday morning. The bruise on my right cheekbone is more pronounced than the night before. It gives the impression of contouring, of those fake Kardashian cheekbones I don’t have. I press on it gingerly, waiting for the feedback of the pain. Will my Nars tinted lotion be enough to cover this? My other hand comes up to the red-brown on my...

Our 8th grader, D, did a week-long business program at Carleton University back in April. He came home everyday with a new discovery: Carleton’s library! Carleton’s food court! Carleton’s quad! The boy was ready to skip high school and go straight to uni. The campus is tree-lined, picturesque, and easy to get lost in. Or maybe I just think that because I didn’t spend enough time there. The Univers...

I had a completely different post lined up for you this week, but this one was writing itself in my head as I drove the three hours home from a soccer tournament for our little guy. Enjoy! Today is the 3rd day of Eid Al-Adha, the Muslim celebration that commemorates Prophet Abraham’s sacrifice and coincides with the Hajj in Mecca. A had a soccer tournament this past weekend, three hours away, on S...

Update: Several weeks after I published this post, Alice Munro’s daughter, Andrea Skinner, told the world of the fact that her stepfather had sexually assaulted her, and that after her mother learned this, she continued to live with him until his death. I will point you to this excellent essay about Alice Munro by Brandon that says everything that needs saying about this topic. Alice Munro, Canadi...

Hello and Salaams, Before we get to today’s essay, I wanted to say how grateful I am for everyone’s support over the past week. Being told to go back to where you came from is always a shock to the system. Something happened physiologically when I was hit with the hate. My whole self shrunk. My chest tightened and grew heavy, my breathing became quick and shallow. Even though I know better intelle...

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nohabeshir.substack.com/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nohabeshir.substack.com/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nohabeshir.substack.com/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nohabeshir.substack.com/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nohabeshir.substack.com/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nohabeshir.substack.com/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nohabeshir.substack.com/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nohabeshir.substack.com/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nohabeshir.substack.com/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nohabeshir.substack.com/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nohabeshir.substack.com/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nohabeshir.substack.com/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nohabeshir.substack.com/subscribe