1. The Beginning, or How Paheli Became the First Wild One; With a Cameo by Taraana, the Boy Made of Stars. An Introduction; Hold On to Your Hats. We are the Wild Ones. We are made of whimsy and lemon. We have the temerity to be not just women, but women of color. Women with melanin in our skin and voices in our throats. Voices that will not be vanquished. Not now, not ever. We will not be silenced. Just in case it needs to be said, all you need to be a girl, to be a woman, is to decide you are one. Your gender is your decision. There have been many of us over time and between time. We write glimpses of our stories, of the lives we led before we became wild, in a Book of Memories. We share some of our stories, some of its pages, interspersed within Paheli's story. Our lingua franca? Why, darlings, we speak all dialects of pain. Paheli's story is our story. We will give it shape, allow it reason, fashion it wings, and watch it fly. Now. Are you ready? Take a deep breath. Let's be wild. Excerpted from The Wild Ones by Nafiza Azad All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
