The Secret Diary of a Pregnant Bengali

Book excerpt: One couple. Nine months. Lots of decisions and even more opinions… Welcome to my life as a pregnant Bengali lady. I went through the arranged marriage process. I met a boy, married him, then learned how to live with him in a whole new city. Life has been an adventure so far, and this might be the biggest yet. I’m going to be a mum! But with a baby on the horizon and an unexpected curve ball, can my glass half empty nature survive the craziest nine months of my life? The Secret Diary of a Pregnant Bengali sees our heroine face her greatest challenge yet, negotiating raging hormones, NCT classes, and a whole host of Bengali old wives’ tales. Exploring race, identity and belonging, former journalist Halima Khatun’s acerbic protagonist will have you laughing and crying. Halima Khatun is a former journalist (having worked for ITV and the BBC), writer and PR consultant. Since she was a child, she knew that words would be her thing. With a lifelong passion for writing, Halima wrote her first novel - a coming-of-age children’s story - at the age of 12. It was politely turned down by all the major publishing houses. However, proving that writing was indeed her forte, Halima went on to study English and Journalism and was one of just four people in the UK to be granted a BBC scholarship during her postgraduate studies. She has since written for a number of publications including the HuffPost and Yahoo! Style, and has been featured in the Express, Metro and other national publications. Halima also blogs on lifestyle, food and travel and parenthood on halimabobs.com. This is where she also shares updates on her novels.