Maryam Hassan

Maryam Hassan has been many things in the 35 years she’s been on Earth. She’s been a photographer and had photos in publications from Rolling Stone to The New York Times. For five years there was a job in an IT department where she was a Network Administrator and for another four she ran social media platforms for hair care companies and classic car websites. There was even a time when she might have been the most famous Pakistani woman in the Punk Scene. However, it wasn’t until she began to start teaching that Maryam found her true calling. Having taught in Montessori schools in both the US and the UK with children between the ages of 2 and 14, Maryam can safely say that this is the job that challenges her daily in the best ways.

Teaching was also what pushed Maryam into writing. A first-generation child of Pakistani immigrants Maryam grew up with a culture clash. She never felt Pakistani or English and had to find the balance of being both these things and something entirely new all at once. Watching immigrant children come into her classes she realized they had stories and experiences that hadn’t been told. There is a loneliness to being an immigrant child trying to find your way in a new place and teaching helped Maryam support those kids. Maryam decided she wanted to write stories to help kids growing up in situations like this. Drawing from her own experiences growing up an immigrant to the things she has seen teaching immigrant children, Maryam hopes to help people to find balance in their new lives.