Yassmin's Story

by Yassmin Abdel-Magied

Including new chapters.

Frank, fearless, funny, articulate, and inspiring, Yassmin Abdel-Magied is a young Muslim dynamo offering a bracing breath of fresh air—and hope. At 21, Yassmin found herself working on a remote Australian oil and gas rig; she was the only woman and certainly the only Sudanese-Egyptian-Australian background Muslim woman. With her hijab quickly christened a "tea cosy," there could not be a more unlikely place on earth for a young Muslim woman to want to be. This is the story of how she got there, where she is going, and how she wants the world to change.

Born in the Sudan, Yassmin and her parents moved to Brisbane when she was two, and she has been tackling barriers ever since. At 16 she founded Youth Without Borders, an organization focused on helping young people to work for positive change in their communities. In 2007 she was named Young Australian Muslim of the Year and in 2010 Young Queenslander of the Year.

In 2011 Yassmin graduated with a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering (First Class Honours) and in 2012 she was named Young Leader of the Year in the Australian Financial Review and Westpac's inaugural 100 Women of Influence Awards, as well as an InStyle cultural leader and a Marie Claire woman of the future.

Yassmin has now been awarded Youth of the Year in the Australian Muslim Achievement Awards.

Penguin Random House is contributing royalties to Youth Without Borders.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Biography, Australia, Feminism, Autobiography, Audiobook

326 pages, Paperback

Published March 1, 2016

Reviews

[Glaiza · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read a few memoirs from the perspectives of migrants but this is the first time I've read an Australian non-fiction book, which reflects upon a child of a migrant's experience in Australia. It's an experience I can relate to:

There is a level of existential responsibility, debt even, which sits in the minds of migrant children that means sometimes our decisions are made, whether consciously or unconsciously, out of respect to our parents and the sacrifice they made. It is not something that can be explained in cold rational terms.

Cont'd on the blog: https://paperwanderer.wordpress.com/2...

[Shaymaa Solh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yassmin is such an inspiring and wise girl as it appears from her insights and reflections.
I highly recommend this book for every lady who wants to push her way through the society's limitations.
It resonated greatly with my mentality and my perspectives about women's roles.
This girl has done a lot of achievements by the time she was only 24 years old. From a courageous public speaker to a hard working engineer to a founder of Youth Without Boarders, she was able to break every gender, ethnic and religious stereotyping.
She takes you into her journey of a migrant hijabi muslim girl in Australia who faces Islamophobia post 9/11 attacks.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow. Yassmin's CV of achievements reads like someone three times her age. This Sudanese-Egyptian-Australian Muslim was once obsessed with F1 and now works on an oil rig. Can you get any cooler than that? Yassmin is funny but wise yet happy to acknowledge her own mistakes and shortcomings. Her work to mobilise youth, women and Muslims is inspirational - I predict big things for her in the future.

[DonutKnow · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a pretty great listen, especially since the author also did the narration for the audiobook. She made it as authentic as possible.

It makes me want to do as much as she has achieved, albeit it is incredibly terrifying.

Also, it was really great to learn more about the life of someone who practices Islam, is from a culturally diverse family and is a woman- more than a few marginalised groups, yet Yassmin Abdel-Magied owns it all the same. She owns it like a boss, which is really inspiring.

There are some really strong values that are incredibly important to have: not compromising yourself and the life that you want to live based on the lot you're given; striving, for excellence but also to serve others. There are just so many, and the author imparts them to the listener with genuine passion and conviction.

Hopefully, I can live a life as productive and enriching as hers.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Firstly, how can someone so young have achieved so much already, secondly, this was great! This was my first experience listening to an audiobook and I loved it. Being narrated by Yassmin herself gave the story a personal feel and helped me see her experiences on a whole other level. This was so interesting and I loved the way Yassmin addressed so many hard topics, such as gender stereotypes, in an honest open way. Would highly recommend.

[Maryam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing book, I really related to most of the parts (notthepartswhereshe'sallsuccessfulandsmart:)) like growing up muslim in Australia. Really inspirational.

[Emily Timms · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first discovered Yassmin Abdel-Magied through her TED talk - "What does my headscarf mean to you?" were she talks about the subject of prejudice that can occur at first glance and the importance of re-correcting our first initial thought about a person or a situation. I later read about her life and work through an article in Peppermint magazine and decided that this woman is awesome, she's inspiring and I want to know more.

Yassmin's Story is a thought provoking read that will never allow you to see the world the same way again. She challenges your conventional way of thinking and brings up issues that you might not have even considered before, in my case it was because they have simply not been as drastically present (or/ I am very naive) in my life.

Her passion to make the world better place has left me hungry to help (even though I'm still rather clueless of how I can achieve this, but hey working progress).

I have to admit that her achievements and sureness in herself, beliefs, values and purpose can be both extremely admirable and a tad intimidating (I am roughly the same age and feel like I am not sure about anything really).

Her book has taught me the importance of trusting yourself and the universe, trusting that if you do your best it will all work out (this is a skill I'm still working on):
"Ideally, if you have the underlying confidence that you can do anything, you just have to figure out how, so having this trust helps you move beyond self-doubt to a place of self-reflection and analysis".

I also really loved how this book discusses that it's ok to fight for your passion and beliefs but still be nice. "always be charming' because your can't lose if you're always nice." I do not believe that our culture shows kindness and empathy as a strength as much as they should. I think it is still sometimes shown as a weakness.

I deeply respect her mantra of hard work and if you work hard you will achieve, in saying that (though I don't know if she experienced this as well) I do strongly believe that pausing in your life is equally essential.

Sorry about the waffling, but I guess what it comes down to is that this book is amazing and Yasmin Abdel-Magied is my new role model. Thank you very much.

[Tamara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yassmin is someone I look up to, so I was pretty excited to read this book, and I wasn't disappointed at all! She is such an inspiration and I could relate to the migrant child being "trapped" (in a sense) in two different cultures/worlds - especially having to be the good little daughter when the family's over!

My only complaint is that Yassmin makes me feel very unaccomplished, haha!

[Carmel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! What an inspiration! Yassmin has achieved so much at only 24. I look forward to Yassmin's story #2. Wish the memoir had a better title. The book was impressive but the title is a bit boring.

[Susannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspirational, thought-provoking & a truly amazing young woman who is transforming Australia.

[Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yassmin's story is considered and articulate, to the point where I craved more emotional resonance to balance the brainpower.

[K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trigger warnings: death of a grandparent, misogyny, Islamophobia.

I read Yassmin's fiction debut, You Must Be Layla, last year and while I liked it, the writing style wasn't for me. So I was sliiiiiightly hesitant going into this one that it would have the same style. Thankfully, this was like listening to Yassmin tell a series of stories and I was hooked from start to finish.

She's as charismatic on the page here as she is on screen and I'm really glad I picked this up. She's got an incredibly impressive resume for someone as young as she is, and I can't wait to see what she does from here. (I also wonder if I'd enjoy You Must Be Layla slightly more now that I can see how much of it is inspired by her own life and her own experiences...)

[Sadie · Rating 4 out of 5]

An inspirational, frank, funny, passionate memoir. By now, we are all accustomed to witnessing commentary in the public sphere on the topic of Islam; yet, due to whitewashed media and publishing, very rarely do we encounter unfiltered authentic stories of Muslim immigrants experiences. This memoir is an invigorating step-forward. A fantastic balance between sharing stories of her challenges and also what she hopes to do to to mitigate these challenges for future generations. Hopefully, the book is foreshadowing a future in which we see a much more diverse array of authors sharing their stories.

[Bluebelle-the-Inquisitive (Catherine) · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was my love of reading that helped label me with the flattering title of 'nerd', and it has been a permanent and prominent facet of my life ever since the night my father introduced me to Enid Blyton.

Yassmin Abdel-Magied is one of those people my employment in schools has provided me with the opportunity to meet. She gave a presentation in the school library I was then employed in. I have never seen a speaker captivate a room full of teenage girls as fully and as easily as she did. These are girls that like her are from migrant or ethnic families. She spoke to them on their level and reminded them that anything is possible if they want it. Its main intent appears to be to allow young women of colour to be seen and to disperse some of the myths surrounding Islam and Muslims. Unfortunately, her captivating oration style did not translate to writing. The book is choppy and at times maybe a bit unfocused. While I can guess the intended audience I can't see who could comfortably read it. There is either too much or too little explanation of Islam, Australian attitudes and other bits.

About 80% of the way through I basically checked out. Something wasn't sitting right with me, possibly due to the writing not fitting any defined audience possibly because She spent all this time mentioning the Rigs and the racing team and they essentially end up being glossed over. It works to a degree because they are quite personal experiences but they are huge parts of who she is and her circles. Having them treated as they are is a little off-putting.

Some highlights
* The day it all changed. - the whole section that discussed the shift post 9/11. (Yassmin was 10)
* The Sharia Law discussion. - This is possibly the most misunderstood aspect of the whole religion.
* The Romanian Painter - What is the most important lesson you've learnt?
* Her family - Especially her father.
* Youth Without Borders and Her TedxTalk - her topic was unconscious bias.
* The emotions and questions it evoked. - this made me question my own biases and reminded me of my own awful reactions to people I saw as other post 9/11. Yassmin wasn't the one to change this, but she may well be for others.

Look I enjoyed this well enough, it was fine. I'm giving it a 3.5-star rating (rounded up to 4 because Goodreads). It just reminded me why I tend to avoid memoirs and biographies. They are written for people who already know the person. Yes Yassmin is an inspirational woman and it is always nice to read about feminist young women kicking ass and breaking down walls in their field but something was off-putting in the writing.

Religious imperatives asides, the hijab is truly part of my identity. It says to the world, I am Muslim and I am proud and I can do anything I damn well please, just you wait. Sometimes, it's because I feel super close to Allah. Sometimes, it is just my everyday way of sticking it to the man.

A representative gif:

Some Useful Links:
Yassmin's TedxTalk
Youth Without Borders

[Janelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yassmin's Story is a fascinating insight into the life of one of Australia's young leaders and progressive thinkers: Yassmin Abdel-Magied. The book chronicles her birth in Sudan, migration to Australia, schooling in Southeast Asia, university studies, and current position breaking down gender roles as a mechanical engineer on an oil rig in Australia.

Abdel-Magied leads a feminist dialogue about life as a migrant Muslim woman working in a male-dominated industry in Australia, weaving lessons on Islam, misogyny, unconscious bias, and Sudanese culture in with her life stories. If you’ve watched her TED Talk on unconscious bias (which I LOVED) this is more of the same, but with a lengthier look into her backstory.

It’s hard to review someone’s life story, because I find it hard to critique the storytelling without feeling like I’m directly attacking them and their history. But I wanted to love this and it was just….okay.

It could’ve benefited from stronger editing and direction. It follows no clear trajectory: it is not in chronological order, nor does each chapter revolve around a clear central theme, which would allow Abdel-Magied to shift back and forward in time as required. Instead, each chapter is unclear in its direction and it jumps back and forth in time to the point of confusion. For example, at the beginning of the book she describes playing with her cousins in Sudan at length, only then to explain that she moved to Australia before she was even 2 years old. Chapters later, she finally explains that her family visited Sudan every 2 years for the duration of her childhood, and the pieces finally fell into place.

I wished the book had focused more on her work with Youth Without Borders and her current station as a mechanical engineer on the oil rig, as these chapters were more fascinating and more enjoyable. There are clear lessons she learned during these periods and a great feminist discourse pervading the text, which was actually a breath of fresh air - the book was becoming increasingly self-congratulatory up until that point and I was finding the audiobook harder and harder to pick up again, worried I’d have to sit through another childhood tale that I wasn’t ultimately invested in.

Additionally, Abdel-Magied tries at time to add dramatic flair to her prose but it occasionally became a little too much. Sure, it makes sense to dramatise your memories a little as you recount them, but at times I found myself thinking "did the conversation actually happen that way?", "she sure has a detailed memory about gestures and reactions in a conversation that happened 6 years ago", or "this could have done without the embellished description of your school skirt swaying round your legs". I'm curious as to whether I would've picked up on these things quite as much if I'd read the physical book, or if these quirks are simply endemic to the audiobook.

Overall: This was a fascinating insight into a life so different from my own, and it was wonderful to be able to learn so much about Sudanese culture and Islam! Strangely enough I don’t read much feminist non-fiction, in spite of being a proud feminist, and I loved reading Abdel-Magied’s takes on feminism, privilege, and unconscious bias. However, I did find that this book was overly long-winded, flowery at times, and lacked a clear trajectory and outline. I wish there had been a more proportionate focus on her childhood and adult lives, and that we got to see more of her work as a speaker, mechanical engineer, and young leader - which is what incentivised me to pick this up in the first place.

[Kelly (purplebookstand) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yaasmin's Story

At only 24, Yaasmin has experienced more than people twice as old as her. This is an inspirational story of a young Muslim woman who lets absolutely NOTHING get in her way when it comes to achieving her goals. Follow Yaasmin as she breaks down barriers and achieves amazing things! A thoroughly enjoyable 4*.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[I. Reid · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book that provides a lot of insight into living in Australia as a minority. It's just a shame that there are so many one-star reviews from a class of year-9 kids who are currently reading it for class and having to write an essay on it, so are taking out their frustrations on the book, which is sad and unfair. But I do recommend this book.

[Marieclaire · Rating 4 out of 5]

A perspective that I’m not familiar with as I actually don’t know any Muslim people so I found it really interesting. It was well written and read by the author. I feel like I have a better understanding of Muslim beliefs and Sudanese culture.

[SteffyJay (Little Booky Nook) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book!! This book was given to me by a friend (she got it signed for me which was lovely), and because I had a thousand books to read I have only just gotten around to reading Yassmin's Story. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and really feel like I have come away with more knowledge about Yassmin as a person, as well as where she comes from and her faith. Her faith really shines throughout the whole book, which I absolutely love. I have written down some of the things she talks about throughout the book - such as women wearing hijabs, niqabs etc.. about how it is the woman's choice to wear what she wants; misconceptions about Islam - where people get confused with the different between culture and religion; sexism - which we come across in all cultures.

This isn't a book about someone preaching their beliefs. Yassmin isn't throwing all of this stuff in your face and telling you to agree with everything she says. She is merely sharing her experience and knowledge and elaborating, and I have to say she does so rather poignantly. I love her relationship with her parents and family, I feel like a lot of her morals come from her Mum and Dad.

Yassmin has done a lot in her organisation 'Youth Without Borders'. She continues to educate and support those who's voices tend to not be heard and I am proud that Australia has such a wonderful role model in Yassmin. I highly recommend this book, it is funny, informative and has a lot of heart.

[Cynthia Coghill · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Fearless, funny, articulate and inspiring, Yassmin Abdel-Magied is a young Muslim dynamo offering a bracing breath of fresh air - and hope." This quote offers a wonderful insight into this amazing young lady. I was captivated by each chapter. Yassmin's honesty and indefatigable energy came through time and time again as she chartered each stage of her life and studies to get to where she is today. A lot could be learnt by having this on schools reading list. The invitation is there to talk to each other and learn about the differences in culture and religion - a gift for everyone.

[Chava · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've seen Yassmin's TED talk and loved it. This book is a bit of the same, just much much longer. It talks of her upbringing, her values, her strong Islamic faith and her strong standing as a proud, Muslim, Australian-Sudanese woman who at only mid 20s is already very inspiring. I think the book could have done with a good edit chop (ie, made much shorter), but enjoyable nonetheless. A 3 star rating from me due to its length and some political views which I felt were sneakily woven into the book and which I didn't agree with.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

For anyone who understands playschool references, this book is the much needed "Perspective window" that should sit alongside the square, circle, and other less orthodox window shapes. The story she tells compellingly and humorously illustrates a truly inspiring world view, and gently but firmly proves what women, migrants and religious minorities are capable of.
Perhaps if windows like these were more common in Australia, we wouldn't have Senator [name has been redacted] and others as our elected officials.

[Lia · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was a lot I liked about this book. Yassmin is a forthright and charismatic person. I feel her writing did not do this justice. I felt the book did not bring the nuances of her personality as seen in her television and Ted talk exposure. I felt the book at times sounded bragging whereas in person she is much more engaging. I think this is a result of editing not of the writer.
That said I thoroughly enjoyed this story. Such an inspiration for women in STEM careers, young Muslim women and for people wanting to achieve their goals.

[Shirley Bateman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A refreshing and enlightening take on the migrant experience from the perspective of a dynamic, young Muslim woman. The audiobook, read by Yassmin in her sparky, sassy style is very engaging.
Yassmin has received a lot of flack recently in the media but we shouldn't lose sight of her incredible achievements and the true inspiration she has given to the migrant community and, in particular, other young Muslim women.

[Bror (Abrar) · Rating 1 out of 5]

Life is hard when you are a Muslim Sudanese Woman... Wait what? Who am I? where am I?

This whole book can be titled (Tuesday) in my house as a Sudanese woman without the privileged of being raised in Australia.

Sudanese Muslim Woman born and raised in Sudan and still kicking in the SD (should write a book about that lol) that will be fun for sure we need some "black comedy" pun intended.

No hate but meh.

[Kate Kerr · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing book about what we can achieve and accomplish when we see things as obstacles and not barriers. She has achieved so much at such a young age, a book that can definitely challenge and change stereotypes. Unfortunately, some who hold the stereotypes may be the least likely to read the book.

[Hana]

I still think Yassmin Abdel-Magied is super cool and inspiring, but somehow I just didn't find the book itself that engaging?

[Jess · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel bad giving this a low rating because I really admire Yassmin and all the work she has done and this is her life.
But I was bored a lot and the book lacked emotion. It often read like a bunch of articles. I feel like if this was written now it would be a different book.
I’m not a religious person, I’m not interested in religion and I do realize that Yassmin’s faith plays a huge part in her life but I have ditched many books written by Christian’s because they quoted the Bible just one time. I didn’t want to ditch this book on the same basis so instead I did a lot of skipping of entire pages that went in deep into interpretations of the Quran. I’m simply not interested.
I also quickly got over justifications of putting up with “lad banter” - all women and NB folk have to in one way or another during our lives. It’s just what we have to do in order to survive, I didn’t need to read multiple chapters on that. Again, I feel like maybe the age Yassmin was when she wrote this book may have contributed to that.
It is a good reminder of how much Yassmin achieved in such a short time and at such a young age. And it’s a real shame that Australia treats her like garbage now all because of one tweet.

[Claire O'Brien · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this autobiography from a refreshing young voice and she gave a real insight into many different experiences I've never had and I loved seeing the world from her point of view, which is generally a very positive one.

[Zohal · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wasn't expecting this to be 5 stars, but I learnt so much of value to my own growth and learning, that I feel so inspired and am glad I saw this on the library shelf and picked it up.