Advertisement
Books

Top 5 books about dual heritage, chosen by Eva Verde

The author of Lives Like Mine selects five books on multiracial identity and culture

Author of Lives Like Mine, Eva Verde, selects five books that deal with multiracial identities.

1 Natives: Race & Class in the Ruins of Empire by Akala

Akala pinpoints precisely where race and class intersect, an education within memoir, examining the discomforting racial dynamics of modern Britain.

2Don’t Touch My Hair by Emma Dabiri

I was already disentangling from my own hair insecurities when I discovered this book, finding comfort in both Dabiri’s mixed perspective and her exquisitely written historical explorations.

3Mixed / Other: Explorations of Multiraciality in Modern Britain by Natalie Morris

Advertisement
Advertisement

Never has a book made me feel more visible. I love Morris’s fluidity about what being mixed means, understanding it’s ever evolving, and claiming her own identity as mixed and Black, which works very well for me too.

4Brit(ish): On Race, Identity and Belonging by Afua Hirsch

Lives Like Mine by Eva Verde is out now (Simon & Schuster £8.99)

Having sought my own escape from indoctrinated thought, this book helped me further understand my feelings and my fit within my birthplace. Part-memoir, part-historical, this brilliant book explores the many complexities
of identity and belonging.

5Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo

This fiction choice revolutionised my thoughts about my own limited knowledge of my ancestry, making me think of all I unknowingly carry. The story strand involving a DNA discovery resonated in such a way my heart wasn’t right for quite some time. This book helped fill the gaps in me.

You can buy Lives Like Mine from The Big Issue shop on Bookshop.org, which helps to support The Big Issue and independent bookshops.

This article is taken from The Big Issue magazine. If you cannot reach local your vendor, you can still click HERE to subscribe to The Big Issue today or give a gift subscription to a friend or family member. You can also purchase one-off issues from The Big Issue Shop or The Big Issue app, available now from the App Store or Google Play.

Advertisement

Change a vendor's life this Christmas

This Christmas, 3.8 million people across the UK will be facing extreme poverty. Thousands of those struggling will turn to selling the Big Issue as a vital source of income - they need your support to earn and lift themselves out of poverty.

Recommended for you

Read All
Horrible Histories author Terry Deary: 'The most important day in history is tomorrow'
Books

Horrible Histories author Terry Deary: 'The most important day in history is tomorrow'

Top 5 books in rhyme, chosen by children's author Vicky Cowie
Books

Top 5 books in rhyme, chosen by children's author Vicky Cowie

Teething problems with VAR and handball rules serve as a warning about AI
Artificial Intelligence

Teething problems with VAR and handball rules serve as a warning about AI

Out There Screaming edited by Jordan Peele review – horror writing of the first order
Review

Out There Screaming edited by Jordan Peele review – horror writing of the first order

Most Popular

Read All
Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits
Renters: A mortgage lender's window advertising buy-to-let products
1.

Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal
Pound coins on a piece of paper with disability living allowancve
2.

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over
next dwp cost of living payment 2023
3.

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over

Citroën Ami: the tiny electric vehicle driving change with The Big Issue
4.

Citroën Ami: the tiny electric vehicle driving change with The Big Issue