On Belonging, Reflections of a Renegade Guide
Hello Friends,
I’m excited to announce that my book of personal essays, On Belonging: Reflections of a Renegade Guide is now out and available to buy.
I wrote this book on a return visit to Lahore after almost a decade (and just before London went into lockdown.) Lahore, my motherland, has always held a special place in my heart. It’s a beautiful, wondrous city - a city that has always stirred so much within me. In many ways, it felt like the perfect time and place to reflect and write.
In my book I share my strange and unlikely journey towards starting up Living London and becoming a guide. This book is about finding home in unlikely spaces, and belonging with curious outliers. It’s about community and connection, equally it’s about separation and taking the road less travelled. More than anything, it’s about seeking relief and freedom through everyday exploration – and opening up this path to others.
Living London has always been an ode to a city forever in flux, and in parts fading. A city filled with quirky gems, magical people, unreal stories and inspirational projects. I wanted to capture these and share them before they’re lost forever. This isn’t the book I set out to write almost six years ago, but it’s a book that I needed to write. I hope you’ll buy it, enjoy and share it!
“Aside from her infectious curiosity for lesser known corners of London, Saira writes elegantly and wisely on faith, family and multicultural identity. Wonderful”
“I hugely endorse this book! I find the world of tour guiding fascinating! Saira has a unique and beguiling take on the subject (and much more besides)”
“Inspirational stories that will drive you into the waiting and welcoming arms of nature”
Cover Design: Lisa rAHman illustration: Aleesha Nandhra
Returning to Lahore after almost a decade, wandering guide and community worker Saira Niazi reflects on what it means to belong on both a personal and a universal level.
In a series of personal essays on topics including exploration, love, faith, transience, mental health and being a woman of colour, Niazi shares her strange and unlikely journey towards becoming a wandering guide.
She draws upon the stories, experiences, and insights of the extraordinary people she has met along the way, from monks and mudlarks to storytellers and scientists, and celebrates the many different kinds of beautiful lives that exist.
The Story behind the Book
Six years ago I began working on a book called Living London. My intentions for writing the book were two-fold; to share the stories of the incredible places, communities and individuals that make London such a unique and beautiful city and to inspire others to find freedom and relief in everyday exploration. Many years, a thousand hidden spaces and 160,000 words later, I abandoned the project. Instead, I put on a photography exhibition in a former fishmonger of some photos I’d taken on my wanderings, before deciding to run away to Korea. I came back months later jobless, stressed and with no clue on what to do with my life. So I decided (quite randomly) to become a tour guide (among other equally random things).
One day, I decided to write a personal essay on what being a guide meant to me. It marked the beginnings of my book On Belonging, Reflections of a Renegade Guide. I never set out to write this book. It has been both a difficult and very easy undertaking. Although I largely wrote it over a short period of time in Lahore, it took a decade to gather the insights, stories and experiences it holds.
“This book delivered a piece of magic during lockdown, and I feel more enlightened from reading it.”
“A beautifully written book of essays about exploration, belonging, loss, family and many other themes. The book is full of interesting encounters with so many fascinating real people the author has had while guiding in London and around - it reminds you of the richness of life (and the city). The writing is contemplative and introspective, while being engaging throughout. I found it a nourishing and restoring read during the current turbulent times and I really connected with Saira's love of walking and exploring, having rediscovered this simple pleasure during the pandemic. I feel it's one of the those books I will want to return to again and again.” - Dominika
“This book is very beautiful and highly recommended”
"On Belonging" is about how to balance inner and outer worlds, how to listen to yourself and to others, and the ways people and place interlink. It's about faith and gender, solitude and connectedness, travel and stillness. Each essay offers a perspective on Niazi's work as a London tour guide, seeking ways to connect with communities and offer people the opportunity not just to see London, but to connect with others and explore ideas together.
A great read that shows London and Lahore in a bright, illuminating light. An ode to cities and to the glorious people who call it home. - Gemma Seltzer, Author and Founder of Write and Shine
“An engaging, thought-provoking book that explores little-known sides of London, as well as issues such as love, faith and mental health. Well worth picking a copy.”
“If you are able to get through the whole book without venturing into the woods, city streets or wild spaces on your doorstep you have more will power than me!”
“On Belonging is definitely worth a read. It is a book that will both surprise and educate. ”
COMING SOON
London Wanderings; a book of poems
Between a Reverie and a Hard Place; a book of short stories.
Freegan Freedom; a novel
About the Author
Saira Niazi is a London based writer, community worker, renegade guide and founder of the Living London project.
Her writing has been published in various magazines and journals including Huck, Dazed, Time Out, the New Statesman and University of Arts London's Insights. On Belonging: Reflections of a Renegade Guide is Niazi's seventh book.
