This debut effort offers the true-to-life story of a young girl’s longing to connect with the mother she lost to cancer and to find love amidst loss and isolation in an unjust world. Haqq brings to life the challenges facing a newly arrived immigrant family in small-town Minnesota in the 1970s. In doing so, she gives us a tale filled with humor and poignancy, offering a testimony to resilience, strength, and forgiveness.”                                                                                                                                                          --Jeffery Renard Allen, award-winning author of the novels Song of the Shank and Rails Under My Back

Elisheba Haqq has a way of transporting you to another time and place that is unmatched. Mamaji will make you yearn for innocence that made you believe that parents are invincible beings".                                                             --Nina Foxx, author, Momma: Gone, NAACP Image Award Finalist 

Elisheba Haqq deftly weaves the loss of her beloved mother throughout this coming of age memoir. It takes courage to tell as it is, and Haqq does not waver from the truth. Ultimately what comes across is the deep sense of loss and the longing for times bygone, yet forging ahead in the face of injustice and a yearning for love. The fierce attachment to her family gives Haqq strength and humor to get through life, and she infuses her writing with these. What an absolutely delightful read!                                                                                                                                                                                                                    --Supriya Bhatnagar, author of …and then there were three