Anita Sethi

I Belong Here (eBook, ePUB)

A Journey Along the Backbone of Britain: WINNER OF THE 2021 BOOKS ARE MY BAG READERS AWARD FOR NON-FICTION

• Format: ePub

Produktbeschreibung

WINNER OF THE 2021 BOOKS ARE MY BAG READERS AWARD FOR NON-FICTION
SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2021 WAINWRIGHT PRIZE

"I knew in every bone of my body, in every fibre of my being, that I had to report what had happened, not only for myself but to help stop anyone else having to go through what I did. I knew I could not remain silent, or still, I could not stop walking through the world."

A journey of reclamation through the natural landscapes of the North, brilliantly exploring identity, nature, place and belonging. Beautifully written and truly inspiring, I Belong Here heralds a powerful and refreshing new voice in nature writing.

Anita Sethi was on a journey through Northern England when she became the victim of a race-hate crime. The crime was a vicious attack on her right to exist in a place on account of her race. After the event Anita experienced panic attacks and anxiety. A crushing sense of claustrophobia made her long for wide open spaces, to breathe deeply in the great outdoors. She was intent on not letting her experience stop her travelling freely and without fear.

The Pennines - known as 'the backbone of Britain' runs through the north and also strongly connects north with south, east with west - it's a place of borderlands and limestone, of rivers and 'scars', of fells and forces. The Pennines called to Anita with a magnetic force; although a racist had told her to leave, she felt drawn to further explore the area she regards as her home, to immerse herself deeply in place.

Anita's journey through the natural landscapes of the North is one of reclamation, a way of saying that this is her land too and she belongs in the UK as a brown woman, as much as a white man does. Her journey transforms what began as an ugly experience of hate into one offering hope and finding beauty after brutality. Anita transforms her personal experience into one of universal resonance, offering a call to action, to keep walking onwards.

Every footstep taken is an act of persistence. Every word written against the rising tide of hate speech, such as this book, is an act of resistance.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Bloomsbury UK
• Seitenzahl: 320
• Erscheinungstermin: 29. April 2021
• Englisch
• ISBN-13: 9781472983961
• Artikelnr.: 61530879

Autorenporträt

Anita Sethi was born in Manchester, UK where her love of nature first flourished in childhood, in wild urban spaces. She has contributed to anthologies including Seasons, Common People, and Women on Nature, has written for the Guardian, Observer, i, Sunday Times, Telegraph, Vogue, BBC Wildlife, New Statesman and Times Literary Supplement, and appeared on various BBC Radio programmes. She has been shortlisted for Northern Writer of the Year at the Northern Soul Awards and Journalist of the Year at the Asian Media Awards, and has judged the British Book Awards and Society of Author Awards. She has lived around the world including being an International Writer in Residence in Melbourne. Her career highlights include going birdwatching with Margaret Atwood in the UK's oldest nature reserve.

Inhaltsangabe

CONTENTS
1. Prologue A place called hope
Mouth Onwards: A TransPennine Express Journey
2. Speaking Up
3. Strangers on a Train
4. Bearing Witness
Skin from Gargrave to Malham
5. On Race and Place
i. Being British
ii. A potted history of the word 'paki'
iii. Intersectionality: A condensed history of the word 'cunt'
iv. A brief history of 'banana boats'
Backbone Malham Cove and Limestone Country
6. Protected Characteristics
7. On Trauma, Strength and Courage
Lifeblood A Pennine Journey - Settle to Hawes
8. Settlements
9. Scars
10. Gaslighting
Feet North Pennines to Hadrian's Wall
11. Northern Nature: An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
12. Forces
13. Walking with a Witness
14. Epigraph Up from a Past that's Rooted in Pain, I Rise

Rezensionen

Forever asked where she’s from originally, Sethi writes that she has always felt like an ‘outsider’. Instead, this passionate and reflective book stakes her claim to the English countryside and nature writing itself.