Blurb

'[A] captivating, gorgeously written book' Hala Alyan

'A stunning accomplishment' Safia Elhillo

In this heartrending, lyrical debut, three orphaned siblings are left to raise one another after their parents die suddenly. The youngest, Kausar, grapples with the loss of her parents as she also charts out her own understanding of gender; Aisha, the middle sister, spars with her "crybaby" younger sibling as she desperately tries to hold on to her sense of family in an impossible situation; and Noreen, the eldest, does her best in the role of sister-mother while also trying to create a life for herself, on her own terms.

As Kausar grows up, she must contend with the collision of her private and public worlds, and choose whether to carve out a new path for herself. When We Were Sisters tenderly examines the bonds and fractures of sisterhood, names the perils of being three Muslim American girls alone against the world, and ultimately illustrates how those who've lost everything might still make homes in each other.

'When We Were Sisters pulses with poetic lyricism and raw beauty... Fatimah Asghar has written a truly dazzling story' Julián Delgado Lopera