Overview

A SUNDAY TIMES TOP 10 BESTSELLER 'One of the best memoirs I've read in years’ SATHNAM SANGHERA ‘Beautifully written, emotional and deeply personal, yet universal … One can't help but be moved by this story of upheaval and transformation’ SADIQ KHAN An extraordinary family memoir from acclaimed newsreader and journalist, Mishal Husain, uncovering the story of her grandparents' lives amidst empire, political upheaval and partition. ‘I witnessed the dwindling glow of the British Empire. I saw small men entrusted with great jobs, playing with the destiny of millions’ The lives of Mishal Husain’s grandparents changed forever in 1947, as the new nation states of India and Pakistan were born. For years she had a partial story, a patchwork of memories and anecdotes: hurried departures, lucky escapes from violence and homes never seen again. Decades later, the fragment of an old sari sent Mishal on a journey through time, using letters, diaries, memoirs and audio tapes to trace four lives shaped by the Raj, a world war, independence and partition. Mumtaz rejects the marriage arranged for him as he forges a life with Mary, a devout Catholic from an Anglo-Indian family, while Tahirah and Shahid watch the politics of pre-partition Delhi unfold at close quarters. As freedom comes, bonds fray and communities are divided, leaving two couples to forge new identities, while never forgetting the shared heritage of the past. ‘Husain has written an arresting family memoir … her explanation of partition is more level-headed than that of many professional historians’THE TIMES ‘I was so moved by this stirring and deeply moving account that is at once a love story as well as a chronicle of one of the most cataclysmic events in South Asia’ BARKHA DUTT ‘A spectacular achievement. It is an incisive and carefully researched historical account, and as moving and true a personal narrative’ GUARDIAN '[Husain] has managed to make such a complex story so accessible' OBSERVER

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9780008712648

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PRAISE FOR MISHAL HUSAIN: 'She has quietly earned a reputation as one of the country’s most formidable political interviewers. Fellow broadcasters admire her precision – and politicians admit that the prospect of facing her questions makes them uneasy' Amelia Gentleman, Guardian PRAISE FOR THE SKILLS: ‘A compelling primer on how women can forge a path to success. The practicality and clarity of Husain’s advice offers a source of new strength for women in the daily battle to both fulfil their potential and get their due in the workplace’ Tina Brown ‘This book is a must-read for anyone (woman or man) who aspires to reach the top of their game’ Miriam González Durántez ‘From speaking up to rising up, this book is full of practical advice for young women ready to realise their full potential’ Malala Yousafzai ‘With the confidence and authority of a woman who has both attained her dream job and loves it, she meditates on what it took for her – and other women – to work their way there. This is not a memoir; it’s more a feminist manifesto’ Daily Mail

Author Information

Mishal Husain is a broadcaster, journalist and interviewer whose work has taken her from elections and royal events to refugee camps and filming documentaries. She presents BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme and Today Debates, as well as the TV news on BBC1. Her first book was The Skills: How to Win at Work.

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