Diaspora-ish: Notes on Identities, Unbelonging, & Solidarities

by Gayatri Sethi

Genres: Nonfiction

264 pages, Paperback

Published February 3, 2026

Reviews

[Tabassam Shah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gayatri Sethi’s Diaspora-ish is gentle but deep dive for anyone who has ever felt the conflicting tugs of belonging and unbelonging from being in a state of diaspora-ish. Study points scattered throughout force us to pause and reframe arguments. Sethi’s tendency to use the genre of poetry in her messaging indicates that she seeks to engage us in truth telling and the power of witness. She advises us to treat ourselves with grace because the work navigating the machinery of white supremacy and imperial culture is hard and energy depleting. (If only by twenty year old self had received this directive!) What a timely reminder! Half the nation is in shock that outright oppression is being exercised by the regime’s paramilitary forces, Sethi joins the discourse, “If we pay attention, we can tell the truth-that this story is over 400 years old” and that black communities have been subject to this harm for centuries. And when we see this truth, the proliferation of hate should not be a shock to us. Sethi forces us to ask us, is up to indigenous, brown and black folk to bring this to attention? Why must we keep educating people about the truth, especially when we should be paying attention to our own self liberation; we must heal from our own internalized colonization and it is this internal work that Sethi encourages us to do. Her credo of brown people must be taken to heart as a means of freeing and healing the self from the tyranny of colonialism and white supremacy. We must unlearn America for ourselves so we can come to the truths about living in diaspora. We also must help make space (and not hoard it when the POC moniker benefits us) for the healing of all who have faced systemic oppression and exploitation. And in writing this book, space is the very gift that Sethi has given to all of us who seek the self-healing and liberation that can lead to collective revolution.

[Nichole · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an updated and revised version of Unbelonging. It covers topics like living in the Diaspora, colonialism, imperialism, identity, unbelonging. It is separated into different sections correlating with the authors identities and at the end of each section is an area for reflection and further subjects to study.

This is the type of book where each reader is going to have a much different experience based on their own lived experiences and knowledge on these subjects. It is not just a book of poetry or musings; it is also an invitation and workbook. Her poems are matter of fact. They don't seek to comfort, and they bring up hard truths one must grapple with. This is a book that is clearly written by someone who knows themselves and all their complexities. The author invites us to journey with her through her own lived experiences while encouraging us to reflect on our own. This book may cause discomfort in what it challenges you to un/learn. I embrace books like this because how else are we going to build a better world? Still, the author is carries the reader through with her love and support. The book is tender and thoughtful. This is a book full of care and an acknowledgement that we can embrace our complexities and let go of the harmful narratives we have been taught so that we may have a better and richer future.

I took plenty of notes throughout and plan to revisit this book many times again. I will update with quotes when the final book is published. This is a book I highly recommend.

Thank you to the publisher and author for a gifted copy of the ARC.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very carefully and sensitively written book about being in a diaspora. It is not a book that you just read and digest; it is a book of participation. When we look at a person, we may catch hints of their ancestry, but we do not see the essence of the person. We do not know what they have been through, such as racism, sexism, and ageism. We do not know if they are refugees.

The author Gayatri Setri came to America speaking many languages. She was born in Tanzania and raised in Botswana, but her family roots are from pre-partition Punjab. She asks the readers to think of their own ancestral roots and where home is.

If your family has been in the United States for a long time, you can trace your roots through a DNA test, as I did. I was already aware that about 60 percent of me is English and Irish, a smaller part French and Portuguese, but I learned that I also have a fraction of one percent of my DNA is from Morocco. The author has a diverse religious history, too, just as I have Amish, Quakers, and Mennonites in my religious heritage.

I totally agree that people should be forced to deny their racial heritage. I remember forms that asked are you white or black!

What do you think of as your home? I live in Texas, have lived in California but I feel Southern Indiana as my home.

This book challenges you to define yourself and be gentle with yourself , to understand what the whole story of the person, that you may be looking at.

I highly recommend this book, it will teach you about yourself.

[Kirin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had truly intended to post my thoughts before the book published, but this book, these concepts, the author's style- cannot be rushed. Do not be fooled by the 264 sparsely filled pages, the weight of each word demands you slow down, stop even, and sit with the weight that they carry. That you check yourself when required, that you give yourself a moment to catch your breath when you feel seen, and you push yourself to consider the ideas presented before moving on to the next passage. I am admittedly a biased fan of the author, and her gentle guidance over the years to push me to consider another perspective, to challenge my own intersecting identities, and to be pyar filled through it all. I knew going in that the book was in part a reworking of her previously published book Unbelonging, but I found myself annotating nearly every page of this book, as I read and reread the pages, as if seeing them for the first time. The genre bending style invites you in and keeps you engaged as the book moves from identities to emigration to revolution, Desi-ish, African-ish, American-ish, Solidarity. The book invites and prods the reader to learn and relearn and question, systems and labels and identity, internally and externally alike.

[Susannah Aziz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Diaspora-Ish: Notes on Identities, Unbelonging, & Solidarities by Gayatri Sethi is a deep dive into identity and healing. It is food for thought. I recommend readers grab a pen and get to work... because this book feels more like an elevated workbook that will open up your mind and stimulate parts of your brain. It breaks the idea of identity apart, and as we try to put the fragmented parts back together...we realize that they are forever altered; callused by the harsh realities of life, true-identity, history, and human behavior. I read this book while taking moments to step away and reflect on the words. The pages are marked up with layers of my notes. This book will change you and make you better...more conscious. I found healing in the words, "Send Us Back...Land back." I dare you to pick up this book--and I will join you in your quest to "Unbelong." Gayatri Sethi is a true creative genius.

[Safa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an advanced copy of Gayatri Sethi's DIASPORA-ISH: NOTES ON IDENTITIES, UNBELONGING, & SOLIDARITIES. I wish DIASPORA-ISH existed twenty years ago. I took many notes in the margins and in the exercises that she peppers throughout the book. Gayatri holds nothing back. Her words, if space is allowed in mind and heart, will strengthen you. I had to take my time on each page, meditate on it, feel it. Gayatri writes honestly about the state of the world and in the various places she has lived. She implores us to dig deep, lock in on what it means to be human otherwise it's all performative. I finished this book knowing how I can do better. DIASPORA-ISH is a must read!

[Adiba Jaigirdar · Rating 5 out of 5]

A powerful and important book, especially for our times. Diaspora-ish blends together poetry, prose, and calls-to-action, and challenges us to look inwards and interrogate our own thoughts and beliefs. A very unique book and one that feels extremely necessary.