Busboys and Poets Books Presents: LETTERS TO MY BROWN MOTHER w/ Muzna Abbas
Date and Time
Mar 10, 2022 6:30 pm
Location
450K
450 K St NW, Washington, District of Columbia, 20001
Mar 10, 2022 6:30 pm
450K
Letters to My Brown Mother is a collection of heart-wrenching anecdotes and soulful descriptions. Muzna Abbas examines historical events, migration patterns, and cultural communities to understand why South Asian migrants fail to adequately address mental health. Abbas not only offers facts and figures, but personifies the mental health crisis through letters by South Asians from different walks of life, including a queer adult to his younger self and a young woman in a toxic marriage. Through her work, she shows how culture, gender, and religion intersect to impact immigrants and their posterity. Abbas gives a promise to educate and change the South Asian community for the better, offering readers advice on seeking culturally-sensitive therapy, self-care practices, and imperative conversations. Muzna Abbas wrote Letters to My Brown Mother brings this conversations about mental health in the South Asian diaspora to Busboys, and continues to encourage open, authentic communication in South Asian communities.
As a first-generation Pakistani-American herself, Muzna Abbas understands the relationship between mental health and culture first-hand; her interviewees affirming their shared experiences. She contextualized and critiqued her community while completing her dual Masters degree in business and foreign services at Georgetown University. During her free time, Muzna enjoys reading, dabbling in photography, cooking Pakistani dishes, and exploring Washington, DC with her dog, Baxter.
Joining Muzna in conversation is Mominah Farukh is a founding admin member of Subtle Curry Writers (SCW), currently known as The Veranda. She has a degree in neuroscience and linguistics. She is passionate about mental health and spreading awareness. She does not consider herself a writer, but loves reading.
This event is free and open to all, accessible through our Facebook and Youtube pages (@busboysandpoets).
The program will begin at 6 PM with an introduction from a member of our team. There will be time for Q&A with the audience before the end of the program, and you can purchase a SIGNED COPY of LETTERS TO MY BROWN MOTHER. Dinner service will be available throughout the event.
We recommend that viewers RSVP in order to receive updates as well as direct links to the event from Busboy and Poets Books
Praise for Letters to my Brown Mother
“It is difficult enough in general to find candid discussions regarding a topic as sensitive as mental health, even more difficult to find them amongst diaspora groups. Letters to my Brown Mother is a fascinating and eye-opening look at mental health issues within the Desi diaspora. Written with sensitivity and care, this book doesn’t pretend to have all the answers, but it tries to start some much needed conversations.”
— Abu B. Rafique, author of Of Memories and Mirages
"This should earn Abbas a rightful place in the inner circle of great authors. A big win
for both—authentic storytelling and the mental health movement."
— Ananya Jain, founder of FullCircle, LLC
