Huma is a writer, a journalist and an award-winning author, and she writes about the extraordinary joy and beauty that can be found in ordinary little things, creating a home, navigating motherhood, and living simply and purposefully.
In this episode, we talked about her love for the written word, how her south Asian heritage has influenced her as a person and as a writer as well, learning to say no and navigating writing, life, and motherhood all at the same time.
Huma and I share the same cultural heritage as we are both from Pakistan. I grew up in Pakistan and she didn’t but still, our experiences are quite the same in many ways. We also talked about inclusion, why representation matters and why we need to hear, see and read more stories in which we can see ourselves reflected to create space for what’s possible for us.
Listen now:
HERE’S WHAT WE TALK ABOUT IN THIS EPISODE
- how it all begun and what influenced her desire to write
- journalism and moving on to writing for herself
- motherhood and the struggle with self-doubt
- becoming a freelance writer
- developing reading as a habit
- how having an Asian heritage has influenced her as a person and as a writer while living far from the culture itself
- inclusion: we need more stories we can relate to because representation matters
- inclusivity in the book publishing world, the media publishing world and also on the micro levels of blogs, Instagram and social media
- why do we need to hear and share those stories really?
- expectations from girls who grow up in Asian culture and how it can feel heavy
- South Asian culture and marriages
- her personal story of looking for examples when she fell in love with an Englishman
- how did Huma allowed herself to not let those societal and cultural pressures decide how she chooses to show up in the world
- the struggles of finding a balance between motherhood and her love for writing
- learning to say no
- how her blog came to be
- the failures along the way
- finding her way back to her writing
- why she writes
- what does her day to day creative process look like
- teaching writing courses online
- not seeing herself as being the expert
LINKS AND RESOURCES WE DISCUSSED:
- Huma’s website and Instagram
- Huma’s first book: In spite of Oceans
- The Guardian
- Huma’s writing courses: The Quiet Words and Postcards Home
- ‘Why simple living and minimalist lifestyles need to be more inclusive’ – Blog post
- The post where I was asking for help in finding some relatable stories
- In praise, and defence, of Modern Love – Blog post
- Hira’s Instagram
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