What We Leave We Carry: Voices of Migration to Britain

The incredible range and power of the voices and stories in this book creates a beautiful tapestry. It is an uplifting testament to our shared humanity and the eternal history of immigration – Bernardine Evaristo
A powerful antidote to the false binaries of what does and doesn’t make a British citizen. A real example of literature that meets the moment… Thankfully, voices like the ones gathered in What We Leave We Carry exist to offer an expansive clearer eyed path to understanding ourselves, others and the “othered” – Raymond Antrobus
A beautiful, inspiring book… What We Leave We Carry is a revealing, tender and sometimes funny portrait of Britain now. I loved it – Maggie Gee
A moving account of today’s Britain * Observer, Summer Reads of 2026 *
Colin Grant seeks to ask what the word migrant really means – and issues a call to arms to reclaim it… The wonderful, personal stories that flow through this powerfully human book are a strong antidote to the ethno-nationalist rhetoric dominating public conversation * Camden New Journal *

Colin Grant is an author, historian, and critic. He has written acclaimed biographies of the Wailers and of Marcus Garvey.

Bageye at the Wheel, his memoir of growing up in a Caribbean family in 1970s Luton, was shortlisted for the PEN Ackerley Prize.

His history of epilepsy, A Smell of Burning, was a Sunday Times Book of the Year.

Homecoming: Voices of the Windrush Generation was a BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week and Daily Telegraph Book of the Year.

His most recent book, I’m Black So You Don’t Have to Be, was a New Statesman Book of the Year.

He is director of WritersMosaic, a division of the RLF, and a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.