Trying to navigate her Indian world at home and the British world outside her front door, Anita Rani was a girl who didn't fit in anywhere. She was always destined to stand out: from playing Mary in her otherwise all-white nursery nativity to growing up in eighties Yorkshire with her Punjabi family, spending evenings in the factory her parents owned whilst trying to figure out how best to get rid of hair that seemed to be growing EVERYWHERE.
Anita shares the lessons she wishes her younger self could have known: Freedom is Complicated', 'You Will Fall in Love and Be Loved' and, most importantly, "Your Anger is Legitimate'. How did she manage to become the powerhouse she is, whilst battling against being too white inside her home and too brown outside of it?
This story of a second-generation British Indian woman up north is also a tale of tenacity and a life lived with positivity and humour. If you have ever felt alone, different, or just not the right sort of girl, this is the book for you.
I've spent no time on self-reflection at any point in my life. Seriously, I've been too busy. I've been occupied from the minute I was born. Learning how to speak two languages, navigating two cultures, figuring out how to express who I am and planning my escape. An escape to freedom. Working, playing, thinking about boys, listen- ing to music, going on Instagram. All the while trying to be the right sort of girl, and then the right sort of woman. I've been far too busy working life out to think about my life thus far. It seems right that in my forties, in midlife (ish), I take stock. I could have gone on a retreat, taken a holiday or just gone down the pub to do this. But I thought I'd share my tale with you, instead.
As one of the few brown women in TV, you might recognise me or my name. You might have mistaken me for someone else at some point - 'You're the one off the news." Try again! 'Kids' TV?' Nope! My parents gave me an international name, one that doesn't really give much away. For a long time, I kept my family background to myself. I didn't want to be branded or seen as belonging to any gang. I'm whatever you think I am! It's the way I've liked it. But the last 40 years have been spent exploring my identity in one way or another, and the world around me has helped it take shape. The world around me has made me question where I belong.
How do I fit in? Where is my place in the world? I've spent so long morphing and shapeshifting into what's expected of me in every situation I'm in, I think I've lost who I really am along the way. Am I the daughter, the wife, the TV presenter? Indian, British, Northern, Punjabi, a Londoner? These are the questions I needed to find the answer to, they are my motivation to write this book. To remind me of who I am. To tell my younger self not to lose her sense of self in her quest to fit in, trying to be the right sort of girl.
How on earth did I get to where I am today? This is no overnight success story, this is not a fairy-tale, not in the traditional sense, but there is plenty of magic. No one is going to save me, spoiler alert! This is a story about grit, determination and tenacity. I may have carved a niche in a landscape that wasn't designed for me but, in the process, I may also have forgotten the most important thing. Me. I've spent so long trying to fit in, learning what's required of me and adapting to any given situation, I may just have lost the point of who I am.
Hindu (907)
Agriculture (121)
Ancient (1086)
Archaeology (769)
Architecture (551)
Art & Culture (909)
Biography (704)
Buddhist (522)
Cookery (170)
Emperor & Queen (534)
Islam (221)
Jainism (309)
Literary (842)
Mahatma Gandhi (371)
Send as free online greeting card
Email a Friend
Statutory Information
Visual Search
Manage Wishlist