You were born in Manchester but have spent much of your adult life living in London. How does it feel living in the south when you are from the north? Some might think they can get away with describing the book as 'rambling' writing because the author is writing about 'rambling', haha. It's not rambling, it jumps and skitters and stutters which I think partly reflects a stitched together notes approach (which leads to some clearly not intentional repetitions and even grammatical errors) and partly an accurate and in some ways useful to the reader reflection of the author's state of mind. I don't think she is pretending otherwise but it makes for hard going at times and overall undermines the overall impact of the book. The Library's buildings remain fully open but some services are limited, including access to collection items. We're I can imagine (or not) that it must have been awful to suffer this crime with its impact on her life, so I understand that the author wanted to write something about her experience and dealing with it. But... Estrangement is the feeling of not belonging. When you feel like you are an outcast from your family, for instance, you might say that you are estranged from them.

London is a wonderfully multicultural city, but I do think there is still a lot of prejudice in the south towards the north. You want to belong because the alternative is typically problematic. To not belong means you have little in the way of a support network to lean on in times of hardship. And to have friends and other social connections contributes to your mental and emotional well-being. Though not a direct replacement for the feeling of not belonging, normlessness (or anomie as it is also called) occurs when the situation in the place in which you live changes radically and rapidly meaning that social norms may no longer apply. In these situations, you may not be able to identify with these new norms because they differ so greatly from your established ways of doing things. And so you feel distant from the society in which you live. What do you call people who don’t fit in? All upcoming public events are going ahead as planned and you can find more information on our events blogThis book is a personal journey, and also an educational one. I found many interesting stories and facts that I didn't know. I didn't know that birds have magnetite in their beaks, nor that the North of England was once awash with tropical seas. I liked Ms Sethis's description of her journey as 'one of reclaiming both language and landscape'

Reading about her confidence and empowerment was so heartening, she is an utterly exceptional woman. I am truly so grateful I got to read her beautiful words. Her actions of solidarity towards fellow ethnic minorities and words of empowerment were so uplifting and moving. And don’t for one minute think that you’re sacrificing quality and results by opting for online therapy, because you’re not. You still get access to a fully qualified professional. It’s just more convenient and quite often more affordable too. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) What does it feel like to belong? Most people find great joy in shared experiences and that comes from having other people in your life with whom you share a bond and similarities. It is natural to want to belong to a group of community. What does it mean to belong somewhere? You may not be articulating your innermost thoughts, desires, and passions in a clear, concise way to the people around you. If you have specific needs or wants, you have to express them clearly to a receptive audience. A description of Anita Sethi´s walk along the Pennines in the North of England after having suffered under a racially motivated hate crime on a train, thus trying to recover from her PSD and anxiety by interacting with nature.

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People who feel like they don’t belong are more prone to loneliness. This doesn’t have to mean they don’t have social interaction with others; it can mean that they have lost those with whom they felt the closest connections. Elderly people are prime examples of this – they may have family around them, but if they have outlived their spouse and siblings, they may feel a sense of loneliness because they don’t quite belong to the family unit in the same way that they used to. I have been questioned about my Britishness many times apart from by the racist on the train. I was asked that question: “Where are you from?” by the heir to the throne when I met Prince Charles in 2018 at the Commonwealth People’s Forum at which I was a speaker. As part of her recovery programme, Anita decides to walk in the Pennines, mainly on her own. Starting in Gargrave, she walks to Malham and on to Settle and beyond. As she passes through small villages, she wonders what the locals think of this brown woman walking past their homes. She tells us that BAME people are not seen in rural locations as much as they should be, that they don’t have the same level or comfort of access that white people do. That is why she is particularly self conscious of her skin colour there. On a later trip, she walks along Hadrian’s Wall. Whilst walking, she muses on the power of nature, the dangers the environment is facing across the globe, about the sense of belonging to a place, about the roots of words, their original meanings, their meanings now and their personal meanings to her.