A Dutiful Boy: A Memoir of Secrets, Lies and Family Love

Zaidi, a criminal attorney in Britain, debuts with a deeply affecting account of growing up gay in a devout Muslim household. For Zaidi, Shia Islam was an “all-encompassing world” that dictated, namely, that as a Muslim (and the eldest son of Pakistani immigrants), he would cultivate an abiding faith, support his parents, and find an acceptable wife. He details his life with his family in public housing in the ’90s in an East London neighborhood prone to gang violence. There, Zaidi, a soft-spoken, bookish kid tormented by bullies, threw himself into his studies and set himself apart from his peers. He also realized he was different in other ways: at age 13, after catching a glimpse of the TV show Queer As Folk, he knew he was gay. From that moment, Zaidi traces his struggle to reconcile his identity as he attended Oxford and, later, became a successful lawyer. After years of wishing he could trade his success for being “normal,” Zaidi eventually found self-acceptance and love, both in the form of romance and the support of his parents, who went from hiring a witch doctor at one point to “cure” him to fully embracing his sexuality. Zaidi’s story promises hard-earned catharsis, especially for readers struggling to claim their identity. (Sept.)