I Left You Behind

Spanning several decades and three countries, these enchanting short stories dwell unsentimentally on shifting homes and lost ancestral homelands, distant memories and fragmented family ties. Largely inspired by the author's own life experiences, they depict close parental bonds, poignant encounters, tragedies and personal triumphs.

Injustice, the importance of education and a love of literature are recurring themes in the more autobiographical stories. At the age of thirteen in Pakistan "the girl" is forced to learn to read the Quran, without understanding its verses until adulthood. During a school year spent in Texas, she witnesses the ugly realities of American racism and segregation. At university in Pakistan, she visits a teenaged royal bride who is forced to observe purdah, to whom she later sends samples of classical English fiction, in the hope of inspiring her, and being a comfort and an inspiration. Years later, she visits her former philosophy professor at Oxford, with whom she shares her decision to become a writer.

These are stories of dislocation, relocation, and longing, evoking the physical and mental isolation made so tangible during the Covid pandemic. Rich in dialogue and description, the seventeen stories are Persian carpets, interwoven with numerous threads to produce a vivid tapestry of lives lived.

Nazneen Sheikh was born in Kashmir and went to school in Pakistan and Texas. She has written three titles for young adult audiences: Camels Can Make You Homesick and Other Stories (1985); Heartbreak High (1988); and Lucy and Time of My Life for the Degrassi television series (1989). She has also written several books of adult fiction and non-fiction including Chopin People (1994); Ice Bangles (1988); and most recently Moon Over Marrakech (2010), and The Place of Shining Light (2016). Her culinary memoir, Tea and Pomegranates: A Memoir of Food, Family and Kashmir (2005), won second place in the English and French special interest food and beverage book category from Cuisine Canada and the University of Guelph. She lives in Toronto.

ISBN: 9781774151808
Format: Paperback
Pages: 264
Publisher: Mawenzi House Publishers Ltd.
Published: October 03, 2024

"[A] deep dive into what divides us, what unites us." --Margaret Atwood, via X/Twitter "I Left You Behind offers a profound exploration of what it means to exist, to be alive, and, ultimately, to move on." --Dawn-Images "These are stories of lives lived to the fullest by women who share Nazneen Sheikh's considerable passion and intelligence. I Left You Behind is a glorious literary feast." --Linda Leith, author of The Girl from Dream City Praise for Tea and Pomegranates: "In Tea and Pomegranates, Nazneen Sheikh weaves past and present into a fascinating memoir. Her loom is the history of Kashmiri Mughal cuisine, her silks are the exotic, mouth-watering dishes of a privileged childhood. I wanted to run to the kitchen to try her recipes, but I couldn't put the book down." --James Chatto, author of The Greek for Love "Nazneen Sheikh is a most sophisticated and enchanting storyteller. In Tea and Pomegranates, she gives readers a privileged seat at the continuous feast of a loving family in a lost corner of the old world." --Byron Ayanoglu, author of Crete on the Half Shell "[G]reat storytelling, with a finely drawn cast of characters worthy of anyone's attention." --Brian Fawcett, Books in Canada