I Belong Here - A Journey Along Backbone of Britain: WINNER THE 2021 BOOKS ARE MY

WINNER OF THE 2021 BOOKS ARE MY BAG READERS AWARD FOR NON-FICTION
SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2021 WAINWRIGHT PRIZE

"I knew in every bone of my body, in every fibre of my being, that I had to report what had happened, not only for myself but to help stop anyone else having to go through what I did. I knew I could not remain silent, or still, I could not stop walking through the world."

A journey of reclamation through the natural landscapes of the North, brilliantly exploring identity, nature, place and belonging. Beautifully written and truly inspiring, I Belong Here heralds a powerful and refreshing new voice in nature writing.

Anita Sethi was on a journey through Northern England when she became the victim of a race-hate crime. The crime was a vicious attack on her right to exist in a place on account of her race. After the event Anita experienced panic attacks and anxiety. A crushing sense of claustrophobia made her long for wide open spaces, to breathe deeply in the great outdoors. She was intent on not letting her experience stop her travelling freely and without fear.

The Pennines - known as 'the backbone of Britain' runs through the north and also strongly connects north with south, east with west - it's a place of borderlands and limestone, of rivers and 'scars', of fells and forces. The Pennines called to Anita with a magnetic force; although a racist had told her to leave, she felt drawn to further explore the area she regards as her home, to immerse herself deeply in place.

Anita's journey through the natural landscapes of the North is one of reclamation, a way of saying that this is her land too and she belongs in the UK as a brown woman, as much as a white man does. Her journey transforms what began as an ugly experience of hate into one offering hope and finding beauty after brutality. Anita transforms her personal experience into one of universal resonance, offering a call to action, to keep walking onwards.

Every footstep taken is an act of persistence. Every word written against the rising tide of hate speech, such as this book, is an act of resistance.

List of contents

Prologue: A Place Called Hope

MOUTH
Onwards: A TransPennine Express Journey
1. Speaking Up
2. Bearing Witness

SKIN
Wanted: A Long Green Trail
3. If Your Nerve Deny You, Go Above Your Nerve
4. You Make Your Own Path as You Walk
5. Walking as a Woman of Colour
6. On Race and Place

BACKBONE
Malham Cove and Limestone Country
7. Protected Characteristics
8. On Strength, Courage and Trauma
9. Going Viral

LIFEBLOOD
Upwards: A Pennine Journy
10. Settlements
11. Scars

FEET
The Way: North Pennines to Hadrian's Wall (via Manchester)
12. Northern Nature
13. Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty
14. Forces
15. Walking and Witnessing

Epilogue: Up From a Past that's Rooted in Pain

Resources
Acknowledgements
Bibliography
Notes
Index

About the author

Anita Sethi was born in Manchester, UK where her love of nature first flourished in childhood, in wild urban spaces. She has contributed to anthologies including Seasons, Common People, and Women on Nature, has written for the Guardian, Observer, i, Sunday Times, Telegraph, Vogue, BBC Wildlife, New Statesman and Times Literary Supplement, and appeared on various BBC Radio programmes. She has been shortlisted for Northern Writer of the Year at the Northern Soul Awards and Journalist of the Year at the Asian Media Awards, and has judged the British Book Awards and Society of Author Awards. She has lived around the world including being an International Writer in Residence in Melbourne. Her career highlights include going birdwatching with Margaret Atwood in the UK's oldest nature reserve.

Summary

WINNER OF THE 2021 BOOKS ARE MY BAG READERS AWARD FOR NON-FICTION
SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2021 WAINWRIGHT PRIZE

"I knew in every bone of my body, in every fibre of my being, that I had to report what had happened, not only for myself but to help stop anyone else having to go through what I did. I knew I could not remain silent, or still, I could not stop walking through the world."

A journey of reclamation through the natural landscapes of the North, brilliantly exploring identity, nature, place and belonging. Beautifully written and truly inspiring, I Belong Here heralds a powerful and refreshing new voice in nature writing.

Anita Sethi was on a journey through Northern England when she became the victim of a race-hate crime. The crime was a vicious attack on her right to exist in a place on account of her race. After the event Anita experienced panic attacks and anxiety. A crushing sense of claustrophobia made her long for wide open spaces, to breathe deeply in the great outdoors. She was intent on not letting her experience stop her travelling freely and without fear.

The Pennines - known as 'the backbone of Britain' runs through the north and also strongly connects north with south, east with west - it's a place of borderlands and limestone, of rivers and 'scars', of fells and forces. The Pennines called to Anita with a magnetic force; although a racist had told her to leave, she felt drawn to further explore the area she regards as her home, to immerse herself deeply in place.

Anita's journey through the natural landscapes of the North is one of reclamation, a way of saying that this is her land too and she belongs in the UK as a brown woman, as much as a white man does. Her journey transforms what began as an ugly experience of hate into one offering hope and finding beauty after brutality. Anita transforms her personal experience into one of universal resonance, offering a call to action, to keep walking onwards.

Every footstep taken is an act of persistence. Every word written against the rising tide of hate speech, such as this book, is an act of resistance.

Foreword

A journey of reclamation through the natural landscapes of the North, exploring identity and womanhood, nature, place and belonging.

Additional text

Incredibly powerful, moving and beautifully told. Full of wild magic. This book will make the world a better place.

Product details

• Authors: Anita Sethi, Sethi Anita
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 12.05.2022
• EAN: 9781472983954
• ISBN: 978-1-4729-8395-4
• No. of pages: 320
• Dimensions: 128 mm x 196 mm x 18 mm
• Subjects: Fiction > Narrative literature > Letters, diaries; TRAVEL / Essays & Travelogues, Prose: non-fiction, NATURE / Regional, natural history, Travel writing, United Kingdom, Great Britain, Ethnic minorities & multicultural studies, North West England, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Discrimination, The Pennines