Shubnum Khan is a South African author and artist. Her first novel, Onion Tears, was shortlisted for the Penguin Prize for African Writing and the University of Johannesburg Debut Prize for Writing in English. She holds a Master's degree in English and has been selected for a number of literary fellowships, including the Octavia Butler Fellowship at Jack Jones Literary Arts and the Mellon Fellowship at Stellenbosch University. When not travelling, Shubnum lives in Durban writing and drawing for a living.
In 2018 I shared a story on Twitter about how I became a bride Ion a rooftop in Shanghai. While I knew the story was strange, I hadn't realised how many people would enjoy it and the story quickly exploded online: people from around the world responded to say it was unbelievable and wonderful and it made them want to try new things and have adventures.
I thought if they enjoyed this story so much, they might like my other experiences too and I started to share them on my platform. These included how I was interrogated by the Canadian embassy about a secret marriage, how I got trapped in Delhi after an earthquake and the now-viral story about how I accidentally became a global stock photo.
I continued to share my experiences and soon after Andrea Nattrass at Pan Macmillan South Africa approached me to ask if I would ever think of collecting these stories into a book. When we discussed the idea over coffee, I don't think we had any real idea of what this book would be except that it was going to be a collection of strange and funny stories. In fact, initially I was worried I wouldn't have enough to fill a book.
But as I began to work on it, it grew into something much bigger; part memoir, part travelogue and part love letter to anyone. who's been afraid.
I found not only did I have more than enough to write about but that once I started, I had to tell this story. Over the years I have been told so many things about what I should and should not be, how I should and should not act, and for a long time I felt trapped, yearning to do the things I wanted and trying to be the best version of myself within the constraints of society. This is an account essentially of how I chose what I wanted to be, despite facing criticism and being afraid. It is a collection of stories that reminds anyone that you can choose your own path if you choose to be brave.
If you told me six years ago that someone would offer me the opportunity to write a book about my wonderful and crazy solo adventures around the world. I would have never believed you. Six years ago, I wasn't even allowed to travel by myself and I was at a low point in my life; my self-confidence had sunk, I felt trapped and my future was uncertain. My life was nowhere near what I had planned and it all felt like it was falling apart. But when I decided to fight for myself, when I decided to be brave and take that first step into the unknown, my life changed. Doors opened, strange and wonderful things happened, and my world suddenly erupted into colour.
1**Contents and Sample Pages**
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