Keep Moving On: The Migration of a Punjabi-Sikh Family

by Amrit Singh

In 2017, Amrit Singh experienced the deaths of his grandmother and uncle. Soon after, his mother was diagnosed with a life-threatening illness. Raised in a family that lacked open communication among each other, Amrit struggled to understand his place in the world as the lives and histories of the people closest to him were being lost to time.
When the family comes together to care for his mother over the course of her treatment, Amrit begins a journey of unearthing and preserving the stories of his elders. He discovers the details of his father's years travelling undocumented and working at sea, the political and economic factors that sparked his family's relocation out of Punjab, the challenges they faced as new immigrants in Canada, and how key moments of his life still connect to his parents' migration.
'Keep Moving On' is a memoir that finds parallels between family members born in different eras and circumstances, and explores themes of mental health, intergenerational trauma, religion, death, and race through the lens of Amrit's upbringing as a first generation Sikh-Canadian. It is a story of discovery, hope, resilience, and the importance of making the most of the present.

222 pages, Paperback

First published November 30, 2020

Reviews

[HadiDee · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was so excited to read this, and really wanted to love it. Sadly it fell short in the writing. It’s a long recitation of ‘this happened, then this happened’. With no real focus on characters, it was just too difficult to read and I gave up after a few chapters. The two stars is because I love the idea behind the book - we all have stories to tell of our journeys to Canada and they should be told.

[Mehma · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great story on a first generation immigrant connecting with his parents through learning about their history and the things that make them who they are!