“I finally told my story because too many girls are still living the reality I escaped. I want them to know that nothing is impossible. You can survive, you can break free and you can succeed beyond anything you were told you deserved. You can become whoever you choose to be. Your past is a chapter, not your destiny.”

Khatijah grew up in an unconventional household in the north of England: her father kept two wives, one Pakistani and one English, and ran a corner shop in a tight-knit, mostly white community. On the surface life was ordinary - school, friends, a first job. Beneath it lay a family bound by caste, honour and obligations Khatijah barely understood.

At 17, restless and hungry for independence, she runs away from home to prove she can stand on her own. She is found, brought back on the premise she could study. Instead she is held captive and sent on a family trip to Pakistan. She agrees, not knowing it is a trap. Within weeks, Khatijah is a bartered bride, forced into marriage with a man she has met only once - sold, in effect, by the parents who raised her.

Pages: 260
Genre: Memoir
Release date: 27 November 2026