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Farida's story begins in Bangladesh where she found herself in conflict with her family and the Islamic culture that prevents girls and women from learning music and the arts. Her arranged marriage at the age of 18 took her to Iran, then the United Kingdom and finally to New Zealand. At each step of her journey she attempts to describe her inner quest to find herself, while also capturing the nuances, sights and sounds of the events unfolding around her in Bangladesh during its freedom struggle, in Iran during the Iran-Iraq war, in Britain as a single mother and a survivor of domestic violence, and in New Zealand as an immigrant woman. Soon after her arrival in New Zealand, Farida became aware that there were many more immigrant women like her who had to overcome domestic violence and the oppressive patriarchal societies they lived in. The need drove her to inititiate Shakti, which set up the first immigrant women's refuge in New Zealand. It has now grown into the largest immigrant women's organisation in New Zealand, bringing together women and families of over 42 different ethnicities, some of whose experiences and struggles are also described in this book [edited from book jacket]. The story of Shakti's founding and growth begins at Chapter 23.