Unashamed: Musings of a Fat, Black Muslim

- Blurb -

A searingly honest memoir of one young woman's journey toward self-acceptance, seeing her body as a symbol of rebellion and hope, and deciding to be herself--unapologetically. In 2013, it seemed like Leah Vernon's career as a plus-size, Muslim model was on the rise--her blog Beauty and the Muse was quickly building a following, invitations for photoshoots were pouring in, and media outlets from Buzzfeed to Teen Vogue were taking notice. Things seemed to be falling into place--until she discovered that her husband was cheating on her. Broke, divorced, and alone in Detroit, Vernon found herself starting over. In Unashamed, she shares the ups and downs of her life in a voice as fresh and as vibrant as her Instagram photos. Casting aside the filters, Vernon opens up to tell the story of her tumultuous adolescence living at the poverty line with her fiercely loving but troubled mother, her deadbeat dad, and her siblings, and the violent dissolution of her 10-year marriage. Tired of the constant policing of her clothing in the name of Islam and Western beauty standards, Vernon reflects on her experiences with hustling paycheck to paycheck, body-shaming, and redefining what it means to be a "good" Muslim. Vernon's memoir-in-essays hits hard with frank dispatches on her love-hate relationship with her hijab and her faith, race, weight, mental illness, domestic violence, sexuality, the millennial world of dating, and the process of finding her voice. Irreverent, youthful, and funny, Unashamed gives anyone at the margins permission to live unapologetic, carefree lives.