Sairish Hussain: "I wanted to write a book about a Muslim family that wasn't about 9/11 or Jihadi brides"

The book is centred around a British Muslim family living in a northern city. Amjad is doing the best he can as a single father-of-two, following the death of his wife. His son, Saahil, is clever, charismatic and ambitious, but one terrible night changes his life forever. Meanwhile, Saahil’s little sister, Zahra, finds herself caught between divided family loyalties. The sweeping family saga is in turns gripping, shocking, and incredibly moving. There is great warmth too. It is told from the perspectives of the three main characters.

The idea came to Sairish when she was in her last year at university, studying English Language and Literature. “I wanted to tell a story of a British Muslim family, but not necessarily about them being Muslim,” she says. “I’ve never felt there was a book out there that was about people like me. I was fed up with the usual portrayal of Muslims - oppressive fathers, oppressed daughters, militant young men. Anything with a Muslim character always ended up about 9/11, forced marriage, terrorists, or Jihadi brides.

“I wanted to show that life, and all of human experience, happens to us too! Homelessness, drugs, grief; these are universal themes.

“Amjad, Saahil and Zahra reflect me, my family and friends. We all have stories to tell, and those stories aren’t restricted to being Muslim or northern.

“Each character is flawed in their own way, just as we all are. It wasn’t about making them positive - just real.”

Sairish, 27, who lives in Fairweather Green, wrote The Family Tree as part of a creative writing MA at the University of Huddersfield. She finished it for her PhD, after being awarded the university’s Vice Chancellor’s Scholarship, and was thrilled when the novel was taken up by Harper Collins, which offered her a two-book deal. “I met Lisa Milton, executive publisher at HarperCollins, at Bradford Literature Festival, she kindly agreed to read my work,” says Sairish, who also credits Michael Stewart, head of creative writing at Huddersfield University, for his encouragement.”I had a lot of guidance from Michael, he’s been amazing,” she says.

Published last month, The Family Tree has had rave reviews, and was named one of Cosmopolitan magazine’s best new books of 2020. “The idea came in my last year at university. It took me five years to write, as I had essays and disserations too” says Sairish.”It started off with a single dad. I wanted to write about a positive relationship between a father and daughter. Muslim fathers are always portrayed as strict and overbearing, but it’s not always like that. Amjad doesn’t treat Zahra any differently to how he treats his son; she is ambitious and he doesn’t stand in her way. I didn’t realise when I started that the book would be so big, I ended up telling the viewpoints of three members of the same family.”

Mindful of tackling big themes, Sairish threw herself into research. “I went to Headway, the charity working with people who have a brain injury, and I have two cousins who have been poorly since birth, so I have an understanding of how life is for them and their families,” she says. “To find out more about homelessness I went to shelters and food banks and met people who live on the streets, and those who help them. It is something people don’t know much about, unless they find themselves in that situation.”

Without giving too much away, Sairish’s book presents a fall into addiction, and highlights the menace of legal drugs. “I have a friend who is a drug and alcohol counsellor, I found out about the legal drug Spice and how easy it was to get hold of in shops,” says Sairish. “Spice addiction has exploded over the last decade. It was made illegal while I was writing the book.”

Does she recognise something of herself in Zahra, a bright, confident young woman with plenty to say? “There are bits of me in Zahra,” she says. “Traditionally, Muslim women haven’t really had a voice. That’s not the case now; with social media, they can be very outspoken. Zahra is political and angry; she’s always on Twitter looking for something to be angry about! Zahra is bold and fighting to be seen. Saahil is ambitious and cocky. They go off in different directions, but both are tied to their father.”

When she’s not busy writing, Sairish works as a healthcare assistant at the Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. She started writing as a child, and was encouraged by her English teacher at Rhodesway School. “She made me believe in my writing. I hadn’t seen her since I left school nearly 10 years ago, then we met up and I pulled my book out. She was thrilled, but not surprised,” says Sairish, who did work experience on the T&A while at school. “I was the kid always helping others with their essays at school. I always wanted to write a novel.”

Now Sairish is writing her second novel. “I loved my characters in The Family Tree but I’ve let them go now. This novel won’t be quite as big,” she smiles.

* The Family Tree is published by HarperCollins

Emma Clayton