Songs of My Grandmother: On Finding Ourselves, Each Other, and the Things That Make Us Come Alive

A collection of poetry and prose that offers comfort, community, and belonging through stories of love, loss, change, and rebirth.

In this collection of poetry and prose, Sara Surani weaves together the universal songs of her ancestors, voices of women she has met across the world, and her own reflections. These are not songs with music, but melodies of memory and spirit-of love and laughter. Of curiosity and wonder. Of healing and hope. Of the little moments when time slows down.

The daughter of Pakistani-Muslim immigrants who moved to South Texas to give their daughter a better life, Surani draws on her roots to create a tapestry of stories; comforting and deeply familiar. Throughout the book, she braids shared struggles with collective joy, reminding us of all that we hold in common while conjuring a deep sense of belonging-one that is needed now, more than ever.

Sara Surani is the co-founder of She is the Universe, a global movement for girls’ empowerment. She is a Pakistani-American who loves listening to and learning about stories of people from all over the world. She loves working with young people to find beauty and power in their own stories and empower them to use that power to create an impact in their communities.

Sara graduated from Harvard University, and is also the co-founder of a health education program in South Texas focused on educating over 20,000 young children about healthy living. For the past few years, Sara has been working in remote communities in the Amazon jungle and is helping to start the first public holistic education school in Peru. She is also a Fulbright Fellow, Schwarzman Scholar, and Rotarian (Paul Harris Fellow). www.sheistheuniverse.org