If I Tell You the Truth

Ages 14 And Up, Grades 9 And Up

A stunning companion, now in paperback, to the acclaimed poetry-prose collection When You Ask Me Where I’m Going, continuing the stories of Kiran, a sexual assault victim living undocumented in Canada, and Sahaara, her daughter.

For fans of Elizabeth Acevedo and Rupi Kaur, this heartrending story told in prose, poetry, and illustration weaves together Kiran’s and Sahaara’s timelines, showing a teenage Kiran and, later, her high school–aged daughter, Sahaara.Kiran is a young Punjabi Sikh woman who becomes pregnant after being sexually assaulted by her fiancé’s brother. When her fiancé and family don’t believe her, she flees her home in India to Canada, where she plans to raise the child as a single mother. For Kiran, living undocumented means constant anxiety over finances, work, safety, and whether she’ll be deported back to the dangers that await her in Punjab.Eighteen years later, Kiran’s daughter, Sahaara, is desperate to help her mother, who has been arrested and is facing deportation. In the aftermath, Kiran reveals the truth about Sahaara’s conception. Horrified, Sahaara encourages Kiran to speak out against the man who raped her—who’s now a popular political figure in Punjab. Sahaara must find the best way to support her mother while also dealing with the revelation about her parents.

About the Author

Jasmin Kaur is a writer, illustrator, and spoken-word artist living in Vancouver, British Columbia. Her writing, which explores feminism, social justice, survival, and love, acts as a means of healing and reclaiming identity. As a poet and teacher, she has toured across North America, the UK, and Australia.