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Sorry for the Inconvenience: A Memoir
Win a free kindle copy of this book!
7 days and 06:31:36
100 copies available
U.S. only
From a Pakistani American author comes a bracing memoir about tradition, upending expectations, and the volatility of family, friendship, and, inevitably, love.
Pakistani American Farah Naz Rishi’s first year of college was perfectly, thankfully, uneventful. After all, she was in college to learn and forge a path of self-sufficiency, especially after her last relationship fell apart—dashing her mother’s aspirations for an early marriage. What could Farah expect, anyway? For the ideal guy to just conveniently waltz into her life? Life isn’t a love story.
Enter Stephen, a Jamaican student with an open smile and a disarmingly laid-back attitude. It’s not love at first sight. And there’s no way Farah’s mother would approve of him as marriage material. But they have something an inexplicable connection. Through a series of impossible tragedies, grief, and trying to find her place in the world, Stephen is always there as Farah’s confidant, champion, and, most of all, best friend. Anything more could ruin a perfectly good thing… Right?
Spanning thirteen years of complex family dynamics and a surprising kinship, Farah Naz Rishi’s story explores the unpredictability of love—familial, platonic, and romantic, but never truly instant.
Pakistani American Farah Naz Rishi’s first year of college was perfectly, thankfully, uneventful. After all, she was in college to learn and forge a path of self-sufficiency, especially after her last relationship fell apart—dashing her mother’s aspirations for an early marriage. What could Farah expect, anyway? For the ideal guy to just conveniently waltz into her life? Life isn’t a love story.
Enter Stephen, a Jamaican student with an open smile and a disarmingly laid-back attitude. It’s not love at first sight. And there’s no way Farah’s mother would approve of him as marriage material. But they have something an inexplicable connection. Through a series of impossible tragedies, grief, and trying to find her place in the world, Stephen is always there as Farah’s confidant, champion, and, most of all, best friend. Anything more could ruin a perfectly good thing… Right?
Spanning thirteen years of complex family dynamics and a surprising kinship, Farah Naz Rishi’s story explores the unpredictability of love—familial, platonic, and romantic, but never truly instant.
290 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 1, 2024
About the author
Farah Naz Rishi
6 books555 followersFarah Naz Rishi is a Pakistani-American Muslim writer and voice actor, but in another life, she’s worked stints as a lawyer, a video game journalist, and an editorial assistant. She received her B.A. in English from Bryn Mawr College, her J.D. from Lewis & Clark Law School, and her love of weaving stories from the Odyssey Writing Workshop. When she’s not writing, she’s probably hanging out with video game characters. You can find her at home in Philadelphia, or on Twitter at @far_ah_way.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 187 reviews
June 17, 2024
Farah Naz Rishi, Michelle Zauner, and I (and a lot more people) all have one thing in common: a difficult relationship with our immigrant moms. therefore see: me bawling my eyes out for a honest-to-goodness half of the book. if and when you read this, i urge you to read it with or just listen to the audiobook, narrated by Farah herself. she is an excellent and very talented audiobook narrator and telling her own story (even if you’ve heard it from TikTok) makes the gut punch a little bit more real. i’ve known Farah’s story from the bits and pieces that she’s told on TikTok but to read it in an incredibly well-written memoir has been simultaneously an honor to learn more about her and a heartbreaking experience. to walk with her along her journey as she learns about love and loss and all the while, falls deeply in love with the love of her life. Farah, i've learned so much about myself, faith, and what it means to look for your soulmate through this book and i deeply thank you for sharing your story with us. what an honor it has been to read it ❤️
February 25, 2024
I’m actually sobbing while writing this so sorry if it doesn’t make sense but here we go:
I just finished 5 seconds ago and this is one of the best books I’ve EVER READ.
Farah’s memoir was completely GUT WRENCHING, heartbreaking, powerful with moments of sweet tenderness sprinkled through I could cry all night. The way she wrote certain scenes you could feel her complete emotions right in your heart.
Being a Pakistani Muslim American myself I resonated so much with the description of Farah’s relationships specifically with faith and God.
I feel so honored to have read this and I just admire her resilience. Reading about her life, her relationships with her brother, parents & partner she takes you through her childhood to adulthood showcasing hardships & her growth while also making you fall in love with her love story as she is herself.
Reminding yourself that this is a memoir and how much she has lived through just leaves me in complete awe.
I’m so proud of you Farah!
Pls check TW’s before reading.
I just finished 5 seconds ago and this is one of the best books I’ve EVER READ.
Farah’s memoir was completely GUT WRENCHING, heartbreaking, powerful with moments of sweet tenderness sprinkled through I could cry all night. The way she wrote certain scenes you could feel her complete emotions right in your heart.
Being a Pakistani Muslim American myself I resonated so much with the description of Farah’s relationships specifically with faith and God.
I feel so honored to have read this and I just admire her resilience. Reading about her life, her relationships with her brother, parents & partner she takes you through her childhood to adulthood showcasing hardships & her growth while also making you fall in love with her love story as she is herself.
Reminding yourself that this is a memoir and how much she has lived through just leaves me in complete awe.
I’m so proud of you Farah!
Pls check TW’s before reading.
June 17, 2024
2.5 rounded up. The Amazon blurb on this book sells it very differently - it seems as though it is centered on the author's struggle to marry someone not accepted by her family. Instead, this is a tough read full of
June 16, 2024
After turning off my kindle, I reached for my iPhone and punched in my mom’s number. No one would answer; she passed away ten years ago. But I needed to call and thank her for being my mother.
I didn’t cry while reading Sorry for the Inconvenience, but I was moved in a way I hadn’t felt in years. A desperate longing to hug my mom. To hug my dad.
We all grieve in our own way. Years pass, and we believe we’ve moved on.
And after reading this beautiful memoir, I realize, I’m still grieving.
I didn’t cry while reading Sorry for the Inconvenience, but I was moved in a way I hadn’t felt in years. A desperate longing to hug my mom. To hug my dad.
We all grieve in our own way. Years pass, and we believe we’ve moved on.
And after reading this beautiful memoir, I realize, I’m still grieving.
April 8, 2024
apologies in advance if this review is choppy, i had to cut out some parts that included spoilers - i'll post the full review closer to the pub date.
a memoir told from the point of view of farah naz rishi, sorry for the inconvenience details her life from her freshman year at college to a little more than a decade after, with bits and pieces of her childhood mixed in.
freshman year of college, in a japanese civilization class, farah meets stephen, who at first glance, irks her for some reason. maybe because he came into class five minutes late. or maybe because he wore flip-flops and shorts in winter. after a group project, they slowly become friends, best friends, that play video games together and talk about everything and nothing. he starts reading and learning about islam and coparents the cat she adopts in her dorm.
a familiar struggle that i’m sure a lot of children of immigrants understand, especially in desi culture (their family is pakistani) is that parents expect their kids to choose a “practical” subject to study so that they have a “stable” career, both of which i put in quotes because there’s no such thing as a steady job, and every subject can be practical. nevertheless, you know i'm talking about careers like lawyers and engineers. farah wants to be a writer, and shaz wants to play piano - you can imagine how those conversations went.
although this book has a lot going on, the one consistent thing is how stephen is always there for her. whether as a background character or a supporting one, the one constant is him. even though i already knew they were still married in real life, it didn't spoil anything for me because this book is character-driven and not plot-driven.
in terms of writing, farah naz rishi has a way with words that had me crying every few pages. whether that was because so much of her story parallels my life, or because she’s just that talented, you decide (it can be both for the record). the little comments scattered around the book about how stephen deleted a dating app hours after she made him create a profile, how he’s never really dated, all culminated in the last chapter, as she has her epiphany about her feelings. the buildup didn’t disappoint, and i loved how it got less and less subtle as the book went on.
all in all, this is genuinely the best book i’ve read this year and i can’t wait to see what else farah writes.
a memoir told from the point of view of farah naz rishi, sorry for the inconvenience details her life from her freshman year at college to a little more than a decade after, with bits and pieces of her childhood mixed in.
freshman year of college, in a japanese civilization class, farah meets stephen, who at first glance, irks her for some reason. maybe because he came into class five minutes late. or maybe because he wore flip-flops and shorts in winter. after a group project, they slowly become friends, best friends, that play video games together and talk about everything and nothing. he starts reading and learning about islam and coparents the cat she adopts in her dorm.
a familiar struggle that i’m sure a lot of children of immigrants understand, especially in desi culture (their family is pakistani) is that parents expect their kids to choose a “practical” subject to study so that they have a “stable” career, both of which i put in quotes because there’s no such thing as a steady job, and every subject can be practical. nevertheless, you know i'm talking about careers like lawyers and engineers. farah wants to be a writer, and shaz wants to play piano - you can imagine how those conversations went.
although this book has a lot going on, the one consistent thing is how stephen is always there for her. whether as a background character or a supporting one, the one constant is him. even though i already knew they were still married in real life, it didn't spoil anything for me because this book is character-driven and not plot-driven.
in terms of writing, farah naz rishi has a way with words that had me crying every few pages. whether that was because so much of her story parallels my life, or because she’s just that talented, you decide (it can be both for the record). the little comments scattered around the book about how stephen deleted a dating app hours after she made him create a profile, how he’s never really dated, all culminated in the last chapter, as she has her epiphany about her feelings. the buildup didn’t disappoint, and i loved how it got less and less subtle as the book went on.
all in all, this is genuinely the best book i’ve read this year and i can’t wait to see what else farah writes.
June 4, 2024
This is more an extended self analysis than a memoir. The author has been published several times so I was hoping for more polished writing and more self awareness.
July 22, 2024
3 ⭐️ (Amazon kindle first reads) I’m not sure how I feel about this book- and I have icky feelings about criticizing someone’s memoir, but it was just an ok book for me. The story was an interesting look into a culture unlike my own, a parent/child dynamic that was beyond hard, and a relationship w a guy who seemed almost too perfect and loved her for years but she took 10 years to decide she loved him too. I wanted to know how it ended and it was a bit abruptly, but I was also glad to turn the last page.
July 2, 2024
sad story
Although I can understand the author's angst I found her to be self absorbed and selfish. Maybe because I am from an older generation. Her father paid for her to go to law school. He was dying and wanted to see his daughter pass the bar. Why couldn't she do that for him. A few more months and then she could do whatever she wanted. And if she wasn't going to follow her fathers dream then why didn't she encourage her younger brother to follow his dream of music?
Although I can understand the author's angst I found her to be self absorbed and selfish. Maybe because I am from an older generation. Her father paid for her to go to law school. He was dying and wanted to see his daughter pass the bar. Why couldn't she do that for him. A few more months and then she could do whatever she wanted. And if she wasn't going to follow her fathers dream then why didn't she encourage her younger brother to follow his dream of music?
July 11, 2024
i cried, i cried, i cried but there is hope—
---
TW/CW: family death; illness (cancer, ALS); suicide; sexual assault; self harm; eating disorder.
“I remember how my dad once marveled at the mundane. This felt like one of those small marvels. Us, here, now. In the warmth of our little home, the world was quiet and kind and simple and ours.”
I adored Rishi’s YA novel, “It All Comes Back to You,” and have followed her since. Like many others, I also eagerly followed Rishi’s TikTok videos on her marriage of convenience to her best friend–so this memoir was one of my highly anticipated reads once it was announced.
This memoir heavily surrounds grief as Farah Naz Rishi navigates the tragedy of her family’s deaths (first her father, then brother, then mother).
I’ve found myself wondering why I’m always so drawn to stories of grief. I think it’s because grief is inevitable and inextricable to the human experience. Despite the fact that we turn into dirt and dust, we still love and have hope and choose to live and see the beauty of the mundane–and this memoir echoes that entirely.
I was very moved by the memoir; I cried multiple times, especially regarding Farah’s brother, Shaz. While sharing her experiences of losing her family, she also discusses intergenerational trauma, complicated family dynamics, expectations of immigrant children/eldest daughters, her Pakistani-American identity, her faith, and of course, love. (Stephen is truly such a sweetheart! They make me believe in love!!)
Overall, an engaging, honest, and compelling memoir; what a gift it is to have read it. I’d love to revisit and listen to the audiobook one day (narrated by the author herself)!
---
TW/CW: family death; illness (cancer, ALS); suicide; sexual assault; self harm; eating disorder.
“I remember how my dad once marveled at the mundane. This felt like one of those small marvels. Us, here, now. In the warmth of our little home, the world was quiet and kind and simple and ours.”
I adored Rishi’s YA novel, “It All Comes Back to You,” and have followed her since. Like many others, I also eagerly followed Rishi’s TikTok videos on her marriage of convenience to her best friend–so this memoir was one of my highly anticipated reads once it was announced.
This memoir heavily surrounds grief as Farah Naz Rishi navigates the tragedy of her family’s deaths (first her father, then brother, then mother).
I’ve found myself wondering why I’m always so drawn to stories of grief. I think it’s because grief is inevitable and inextricable to the human experience. Despite the fact that we turn into dirt and dust, we still love and have hope and choose to live and see the beauty of the mundane–and this memoir echoes that entirely.
I was very moved by the memoir; I cried multiple times, especially regarding Farah’s brother, Shaz. While sharing her experiences of losing her family, she also discusses intergenerational trauma, complicated family dynamics, expectations of immigrant children/eldest daughters, her Pakistani-American identity, her faith, and of course, love. (Stephen is truly such a sweetheart! They make me believe in love!!)
Overall, an engaging, honest, and compelling memoir; what a gift it is to have read it. I’d love to revisit and listen to the audiobook one day (narrated by the author herself)!
July 9, 2024
I don't think saying I enjoyed "Sorry for the Inconvenience" is the correct phrase; instead, I felt it. Farah is heartbreakingly honest with her experiences and shares the most challenging moments of her life. We read about her dealing with generational cycles, cultural expectations, and complicated grief on her journey to figuring out what she wants life to look like. This was such an amazing read, and I plan to explore her fiction works!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an egalley of this book for an honest review.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an egalley of this book for an honest review.
June 30, 2024
I got this book free from Amazon First Reads. It sounded really interesting and I was keen to read a book about someone's experience of cultural expectations, living in a different society etc. It wasn't really what I expected, I found some of it interesting and moving, but mostly it was rambling at times, I wasn't sure what point was being made and I could not really relate to the author at all. I think I enjoyed the first half (honestly not sure I can remember it clearly enough) but really felt it got more eye rolling at it went on. I would give it 2.5 stars.
June 8, 2024
I am a Westerner living in a Middle Eastern country in which roughly 60% of the population is South Asian and I was curious to read a memoir of a Pakistani woman who was raised, not in Pakistan or in the Middle East, but in the U.S.
I think the full title for this book should have been “Sorry for the Inconvenience; Memoir of a Narcissist.”
There was little insight into the lives of Farah’s family except through the author’s egocentric eyes; the book centered around an entitled, spoiled, whiny, narcissistic, pessimistic, mean-spirited, clueless, immature, petty young woman who blames every problem in her life on her parents.
Spoiler alert: when her father really needed her, she took off for something that she wanted to do. When her mother began to buy and do things for herself, the author criticized her because she believed that, instead, her mother should have given the money to the author (25 years old at the time) and her brother.
And what was wrong with Stephen?
I know this is a Memoir so it should be truthful, but to read about someone who is certain the world revolves around her and constantly whines that everything that happens to her is someone else’s fault is tiresome, annoying and simply sad. And, as an avid reader, I really hate to see so many grammatical errors.
I can’t think of a reason to recommend the book.
I think the full title for this book should have been “Sorry for the Inconvenience; Memoir of a Narcissist.”
There was little insight into the lives of Farah’s family except through the author’s egocentric eyes; the book centered around an entitled, spoiled, whiny, narcissistic, pessimistic, mean-spirited, clueless, immature, petty young woman who blames every problem in her life on her parents.
Spoiler alert: when her father really needed her, she took off for something that she wanted to do. When her mother began to buy and do things for herself, the author criticized her because she believed that, instead, her mother should have given the money to the author (25 years old at the time) and her brother.
And what was wrong with Stephen?
I know this is a Memoir so it should be truthful, but to read about someone who is certain the world revolves around her and constantly whines that everything that happens to her is someone else’s fault is tiresome, annoying and simply sad. And, as an avid reader, I really hate to see so many grammatical errors.
I can’t think of a reason to recommend the book.
Want to read
February 11, 2024i remember seeing the original tiktok for this story at least a year ago now and so happy for the author detailing her love story but also incredible grief. i can’t wait to read it.
July 12, 2024
3.5 stars. I had seen Farah’s viral TikTok about falling in love with her best friend over the years after they had already gotten into a marriage of convenience, so I was curious and excited to read her memoir. I didn’t realize that she had a narcissistic mother and deeply dysfunctional family. This memoir centers more on her emotional abuse, trauma, and grief than on her relationship with Stephen.
Some sections were boring and felt like filler—their college days weren’t that interesting, and her toxic boss at her publishing job was predictable and including those stories didn’t add much.
I’ve seen some reviews comparing this to Crying in H Mart, and I think a major difference is that Farah could see her moms flaws and abuse for what they were, and went to years of therapy to come to that realization and try to be her true self. Michelle Zauner never came to terms with her mother’s abuse and romanticized her instead. Personally, having a mom similar to their moms, it still seemed like Farah still cared too much about her mother at times. For example, when her mother asks for Joe on her deathbed, Farah becomes furious and views that as a deep betrayal. I was surprised that given all the therapy she’d been through, she hadn’t yet realized her mom would never change. Why should she care about her mom wanting Joe on her deathbed?
The ending was a bit abrupt. Overall, this was engaging and thoughtful, however, I felt it would have been stronger with a bit more focus and time spent healing and processing.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!
Some sections were boring and felt like filler—their college days weren’t that interesting, and her toxic boss at her publishing job was predictable and including those stories didn’t add much.
I’ve seen some reviews comparing this to Crying in H Mart, and I think a major difference is that Farah could see her moms flaws and abuse for what they were, and went to years of therapy to come to that realization and try to be her true self. Michelle Zauner never came to terms with her mother’s abuse and romanticized her instead. Personally, having a mom similar to their moms, it still seemed like Farah still cared too much about her mother at times. For example, when her mother asks for Joe on her deathbed, Farah becomes furious and views that as a deep betrayal. I was surprised that given all the therapy she’d been through, she hadn’t yet realized her mom would never change. Why should she care about her mom wanting Joe on her deathbed?
The ending was a bit abrupt. Overall, this was engaging and thoughtful, however, I felt it would have been stronger with a bit more focus and time spent healing and processing.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!
June 12, 2024
Ily Farah, you deserve the world 🫶
June 4, 2024
dnf, didn't like the writing style
May 17, 2024
i finished it and im gonna be here for a while, i just want to thank farah for being so strong and for such such an inspiration to young muslim queer girls like me. also a huge thanks to them for giving me the arc
rtc
rtc
June 1, 2024
Heartbreaking and hilarious
I obtained this from Amazon First Reads and I’m glad I took advantage of the offer. The author has a way of finding beauty and seeing the hands of God through unimaginable tragedy. Highly recommend.
I obtained this from Amazon First Reads and I’m glad I took advantage of the offer. The author has a way of finding beauty and seeing the hands of God through unimaginable tragedy. Highly recommend.
July 11, 2024
SO GOOD
i heard her story from tiktok and i’m so glad she wrote this! her relationship with her mother; the expectations of being the eldest daughter of a brown family; stephen being a constant in her life—all of it was so profound. this was so well written and so easy to get through. i really enjoyed it!
It wasn’t love at first sight. I don’t believe in love at first sight. What even is that? A person can’t love someone they don’t know. Love is many things, but it isn’t, by my definition, instant. What I felt was more of an inevitable, inexplicable connection.
Cruelty can take many forms. When we think of cruelty, we tend to think of the obvious: the screams, the hits, the shredding of one’s soul. The worst of it. Except cruelty can also be stealthy and insidious. Like dismissing one’s feelings, over and over again—until one day you start to forget how to feel anything. That’s the kind of cruelty that is hardest to recognize. And even if you can point to it, name it, it’s often too late. The damage has been done.
That’s the beauty of siblings, I think. You don’t need words. After growing up in the same dysfunctional household for years, you develop your own special telepathy, your own secret language: of facial expressions only the two of you can read, of inside jokes only the two of you understand, of memories only the two of you share. You get each other, perhaps in a way no one else ever will.
Coincidences did not exist, I decided. Coincidences felt more like messages from the universe I hadn’t learned to read just yet.
With him, I realized, arguments didn’t have to be conflict, didn’t have to be battles to be won. They could be about connecting and reconnecting.
Life was too short to care about things that didn’t matter.
But it’s hard to recognize love and all its forms when you’ve never seen it before. I was so sure that there was only one kind of “real love,” and that real love would be some big dramatic, storybook moment, a sudden flare of passion that would make itself known. What if it wasn’t that at all? What if love was a patient thing that simply stood at your side, offering you a hand? What if it was all the best of friendships—a partnership, a promise to face the unfeeling world and all its follies together? Or simply the quiet, intimate details of a person, like how their lips part when they sleep, how they take their coffee, their preferences in tea? That was so much more precious than any storybook moment.
In that moment, the curse of being the eldest daughter in a brown family was more apparent than ever. You are trained since birth to put others before you, to put family first, while you remain an afterthought even to yourself. All the while, you are also a translator and therapist, advocate and secretary. You are a punching bag and a guinea pig. And you are Atlas. Forced to carry the weight of the world, watching life unfold around you and without you, as you slowly crumble beneath the burden—lonely and weary and forgotten.
Sometimes I wondered if people used religion as an excuse to ignore the humanity of others, and instead reduce them to their sins.
Love—maybe love simply sees you in a room when no one else does. Love was a pat on the head at the end of a hard day, a kind word of acknowledgment in a world so damn hard to live in. Love was refuge. Love was comfort. Love was ease. And, sometimes, that was enough to hold on to.
i heard her story from tiktok and i’m so glad she wrote this! her relationship with her mother; the expectations of being the eldest daughter of a brown family; stephen being a constant in her life—all of it was so profound. this was so well written and so easy to get through. i really enjoyed it!
It wasn’t love at first sight. I don’t believe in love at first sight. What even is that? A person can’t love someone they don’t know. Love is many things, but it isn’t, by my definition, instant. What I felt was more of an inevitable, inexplicable connection.
Cruelty can take many forms. When we think of cruelty, we tend to think of the obvious: the screams, the hits, the shredding of one’s soul. The worst of it. Except cruelty can also be stealthy and insidious. Like dismissing one’s feelings, over and over again—until one day you start to forget how to feel anything. That’s the kind of cruelty that is hardest to recognize. And even if you can point to it, name it, it’s often too late. The damage has been done.
That’s the beauty of siblings, I think. You don’t need words. After growing up in the same dysfunctional household for years, you develop your own special telepathy, your own secret language: of facial expressions only the two of you can read, of inside jokes only the two of you understand, of memories only the two of you share. You get each other, perhaps in a way no one else ever will.
Coincidences did not exist, I decided. Coincidences felt more like messages from the universe I hadn’t learned to read just yet.
With him, I realized, arguments didn’t have to be conflict, didn’t have to be battles to be won. They could be about connecting and reconnecting.
Life was too short to care about things that didn’t matter.
But it’s hard to recognize love and all its forms when you’ve never seen it before. I was so sure that there was only one kind of “real love,” and that real love would be some big dramatic, storybook moment, a sudden flare of passion that would make itself known. What if it wasn’t that at all? What if love was a patient thing that simply stood at your side, offering you a hand? What if it was all the best of friendships—a partnership, a promise to face the unfeeling world and all its follies together? Or simply the quiet, intimate details of a person, like how their lips part when they sleep, how they take their coffee, their preferences in tea? That was so much more precious than any storybook moment.
In that moment, the curse of being the eldest daughter in a brown family was more apparent than ever. You are trained since birth to put others before you, to put family first, while you remain an afterthought even to yourself. All the while, you are also a translator and therapist, advocate and secretary. You are a punching bag and a guinea pig. And you are Atlas. Forced to carry the weight of the world, watching life unfold around you and without you, as you slowly crumble beneath the burden—lonely and weary and forgotten.
Sometimes I wondered if people used religion as an excuse to ignore the humanity of others, and instead reduce them to their sins.
Love—maybe love simply sees you in a room when no one else does. Love was a pat on the head at the end of a hard day, a kind word of acknowledgment in a world so damn hard to live in. Love was refuge. Love was comfort. Love was ease. And, sometimes, that was enough to hold on to.
June 25, 2024
Sorry For The Inconvenience is a memoir by Pakistani American author Farah Naz Rishi. It focuses on Farah's college/adult life. We get to read about her friendships, her relationship with individuals from her family, her culture & religion, career, and the one positive constant in her life.
I've read a handful of memoirs, and I don't think I've ever read one that made me cry, smile, and audibly gasp so much. This was such a beautifully written story. It shed light on being Pakistani American, juggling a career knowing you're meant to do something else, and the influence your culture and religion have on your relationships.
There were so many beautiful and heartbreaking moments in this book, but the one thing that I loved so much was the impact that Stephen had on Farah. I don't want to spoil anything. Just know that this book will give you all the emotions. I absolutely adored it.
I've read a handful of memoirs, and I don't think I've ever read one that made me cry, smile, and audibly gasp so much. This was such a beautifully written story. It shed light on being Pakistani American, juggling a career knowing you're meant to do something else, and the influence your culture and religion have on your relationships.
There were so many beautiful and heartbreaking moments in this book, but the one thing that I loved so much was the impact that Stephen had on Farah. I don't want to spoil anything. Just know that this book will give you all the emotions. I absolutely adored it.
June 30, 2024
I picked this up on a whim — I wouldn’t normally go for what could loosely be classified as a “romance-memoir” (but is in truth a lot more than that). At the beginning, I felt vindicated, but I’m glad I pushed forward — Rishi’s morbid humor, hope, and earnestness are necessary guides on this journey of abuse, tragedy, and many, many life-changes / second- and- third acts. I appreciated the way in which this story functioned as something of a backward mystery: we know the outcome and who did it, but it’s still worth going back and watching the pieces fit together.
June 5, 2024
I picked this as my Amazon First Reads for the month of June and am definitely not disappointed! I throughly enjoyed reading about Farah’s life and the relationship with Stephen unfold. Everyone deserves a Stephen! I enjoyed all the stories she included in her book about her life and wish her so much success with any future books she releases. Thank you for sharing your life story with us!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 9, 2024
The last goodbye scene was hard to read; it’s been on my mind for days. It’s a well written memoir, but has some gaps of things that I would like to know. I’m glad that I chose it as my monthly Prime book though.
July 19, 2024
4.5 stars. A heartbreaking read. What the author went through seems unreal, tragedy after another. Not to mention, the already complicated relationship with her family, and her mom in particular. Despite this, the novel is a story of friendship, love, and family.
June 9, 2024
A quick, wonderful read. This memoir reads like a fiction novel and is full of every emotion.
June 9, 2024
Upsetting. Makes me appreciate my own mom. But really well written even if my internal voice knew all the bad turns before the author knew them in her life.
June 28, 2024
Devoured this book, as a Muslim Pakistani American couldn’t be prouder of how she represented the diversity in our culture.
July 6, 2024
Beautifully written. Like sitting with a friend and talking and listening. Some parts were very emotional and raw. Stephen is a keeper!
July 13, 2024
Never have I ever related so hard to a book. So much of this book felt like I could have written it.
This memoir was emotional and heart wrenching but also left me feeling so hopeful.
I loved every second of this book! ❤️
This memoir was emotional and heart wrenching but also left me feeling so hopeful.
I loved every second of this book! ❤️
June 18, 2024
I learned so many interesting things about her culture.
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