Dr. Seema Yasmin (Photo courtesy Lucas-Passmore)

Journalist and physician Dr. Seema Yasmin’s newest novel, ‘Unbecoming,’ due in early July

MELISSA WHITLER | NBCU Fellow
Melissa@DallasVoice.com

Unbecoming follows two Muslim teens living in an apocalyptic near-future Texas where the right to choose is abolished and abortions are completely illegal. Best friends Laylah and Noor decide to create an illegal guide to abortion to help those in need. And as the two work together, the need for the guide becomes even more urgent.

Dr. Seema Yasmin was inspired to write the novel by her time working as a journalist in Dallas. She afforded extensive coverage to reproductive health then, and she saw firsthand how dangerous it can be to be pregnant in Texas. She was often asked why she chose to move from New York to the South, and she said the state is not what people think.

“My reality was very different from what people from the Northern U.S. expect from the South,” Yasmin recalled. “The news and voting patterns are very different from daily life, it’s a much more diverse landscape.”

In 2019, it became apparent to Yasmin that politicians would be pushing to overturn Roe v. Wade. That’s when she initially started writing the story that would be Unbecoming. But, after writing around 20,000 words, she began to have doubts.

“It felt overwhelming; I had all these insecurities and thought I didn’t know how to write a novel,” Yasmin described.

It wasn’t until the 2022 ruling overturning Roe that she went back to the story. “My agent asked when I would be finishing that story, and it felt more urgent to get it out,” Yasmin said.

As an accomplished journalist, Yasmin has a lot of experience writing nonfiction, but she took a different approach for this topic. “Novels give us an entry point into people’s lives, the opportunity to be challenged,” she said, explaining that readers are able to connect more deeply with the characters and understand their experiences.

For this work, Yasmin relied upon a mix of research and lived experience. She spent time digging into medical journal articles, researching policy and talking to people. “I wanted to accurately depict what people are willing to do to end a pregnancy,” Yasmin said.

She also pulled from her own experience. Because of her religious upbringing, Islam colors the way Yasmin sees the world. “While there are many patriarchal aspects, Islam does allow abortion in many instances,” she said. “Muslims are not a monolith, and there is a wide breath of interpretations and relationships with faith.”

Despite the book having yet to be released, Target and Walmart have already announced they will not sell the book at certain locations. This comes as little surprise, as book censorship has continued to be a political issue.

While this news was upsetting for Yasmin, she hopes the book will still find those who need it.

Since there are few real portrayals of what abortion access can look like for different people, Unbecoming seeks to give a diverse look at experiences. “I want readers to feel empowered by the story, and to see that even though these issues are political, they have real life consequences,” Yasmin said.

Even with the current political state, Yasmin continues to see hope: “If I was just researching and writing by myself, I’d feel so overwhelmed with existential dread, but talking with others and seeing resistance inspires me,” she explained. She feels even dystopian stories have so much hope and show us a possible path to a better future.

Yasmin encourages readers to register to vote and take time to get educated on the facts around reproductive rights. “There are people praying on our vulnerability and spreading misinformation, wanting us to believe that abortion is unavailable in our areas, when that isn’t completely true,” she explained. There are local networks of support that can be tapped into to help with access and verifying legitimate sources of help.

For Seema Yasmin, Unbecoming is the book she wishes she had in high school. “Abortion is healthcare, and a part of human life,” she said. “Even though the focus of Unbecoming is abortion, it’s really a novel about friendship, about navigating family and faith.” The book offers something for every reader while portraying what it means to live in a post-Roe v. Wade world .

For more information and to preorder Unbecoming, go to SeemaYasmin.com/Uunbecoming/.