3 Review(s)

A tender and eye-opening novel about loss and survival, and an unlikely friendship between a Glaswegian widow and a Somali asylum seeker So we walked in the freezing night air, my daughter weeping into my neck, and me trying to shelter her inside my own thin coat. I could accept the sun had left us, but I struggled to understand where the moon was. At home, the moon and stars are so big, you can see by them, work by them through the night. Only thin glimmers here, cold specks in the muddy sky. Glasgow. A city of colour and contrast. A place where two worlds collide - and are changed forever. When the Scottish Refugee Council assigns Deborah Maxwell to act as Somali refugee Abdi's new mentor, the two are drawn into an awkward friendship. They must spend a year together, meeting once a month in a different part of Glasgow. As recently-widowed Deborah opens Abdi's eyes to her beloved city and its people, he teaches her about the importance of family - and of laying your ghosts to rest. All Abdi has brought with him is his four-year-old daughter, Rebecca, who lives in a silence no one can reach. Until, one day, little Rebecca starts talking. And they realise why she stopped. Heartbreaking, uplifting and unforgettable, This is Where I Am is a novel of loss and guilt, friendship and hope, and of what we can grow from the ashes of the past. About the Author Karen Campbell is a graduate of Glasgow University's renowned Creative Writing Masters, and author of The Twilight Time, After the Fire, Shadowplay and Proof of Life. A former police officer, Karen Campbell won the Best New Scottish Writer Award in 2009. She lives Galloway, Scotland.