> > Son of Elsewhere: A Memoir in Pieces by Elamin Abdelmahmoud
Son of Elsewhere: A Memoir in Pieces by Elamin Abdelmahmoud

Son of Elsewhere: A Memoir in Pieces by Elamin Abdelmahmoud

$ 17.00

At twelve years old, Elamin Abdelmahmoud emigrates with his family from his native Sudan to Kingston, Ontario, arguably one of the most homogenous cities in North America. At the airport, he’s handed his Blackness like a passport, and realizes that he needs to learn what this identity means in a new country. 

Like all teens, Abdelmahmoud spent his adolescence trying to figure out who he was, but he had to do it while learning to balance a new racial identity and all the false assumptions that came with it. Abdelmahmoud learned to fit in, and eventually became “every liberal white dad’s favorite person in the room.” But after many years spent trying on different personalities, he now must face the parts of himself he’s kept suppressed all this time. He asks, “What happens when those identities stage a jailbreak?” 

In his debut collection of essays, Abdelmahmoud gives full voice to each and every one of these conflicting selves. Whether reflecting on how The O.C. taught him about falling in love, why watching wrestling allowed him to reinvent himself, or what it was like being a Muslim teen in the aftermath of 9/11, Abdelmahmoud explores how our experiences and our environments help us in the continuing task of defining who we truly are. 

With the perfect balance of relatable humor and intellectual ferocity, Son of Elsewhere confronts what we know about ourselves, and most important, what we’re still learning.

Year: 2022

Paperback

Related Products

Before the Flood: A Gaza Family Memoir Across Three Generations of Colonial Invasion, Occupation, and War in Palestine by Ramzy Baroud

Before the Flood: A Gaza Family Memoir Across Three Generations of Colonial Invasion, Occupation, and War in Palestine by Ramzy Baroud

Seven Stories Press $ 22.95
The Adventures of Ibn Battuta: A Muslim Traveler of the 14th Century by Ross Dunn

The Adventures of Ibn Battuta: A Muslim Traveler of the 14th Century by Ross Dunn

University of California Press $ 34.95
The Hour of the Wolf: A Memoir by Fatima Bhutto

The Hour of the Wolf: A Memoir by Fatima Bhutto

Scribner $ 26.00
The Requirements of the Sufi Path: A Defense of the Mystical Tradition by Ibn Khaldun

The Requirements of the Sufi Path: A Defense of the Mystical Tradition by Ibn Khaldun

New York University Press $ 15.00