Aisha Ashraf is a writer and editor whose work has appeared in literary journals, newspapers & magazines, including The Rumpus, The Maine Review, River Teeth, HuffPost & The Independent(UK)
Dorothy Parker's Ashes
It was the laugh that did it.
Overly loud, with a hollowness behind it like a concealed room, it was always a sign things were about to get bad… Even before the bipolar diagnosis that rendered every aspect of my father’s behavior a sign to be interpreted—an augur in real time, it made the hairs prickle on the back of my neck.
Cut
Unclench your fists and spread your palms on the cool kitchen worktop to counter the molten rage flaring inside. The intensity of your feelings, when they threaten to take over like this, scares you and yet, at the same time, it’s when you feel the most alive—when you know yourself so fiercely you want to shout it before it fades to static again.
The destructive marriage of undiagnosed autism and societal expectation.
Outside(r)
Outside(r) chronicles the jarring transition of an undiagnosed autistic child from Nature's classroom to the austere school system of 1980's rural Ireland
About Face: Essays on Addiction, Recovery, Therapies, and Controversies
A collection of essays by a diverse group of writers, About Face delves into the major categories of addiction: drugs, alcohol, sex, pornography, video games, gambling, body dysmorphia, and eating disorders. With stories by those suffering from addictions, experts in the field, and service providers, this anthology is a far-reaching intervention into one of our country’s most rapidly expanding social issues.
My experience of anorexia nervosa is documented in "Vanishing Point".
Beautiful: Beauty in the eye of the beholder
My poem, "Me, Inside" is included in this anthology exploring the many facets of what we blithely term "beauty",
How People with Autism Fake It
Where are all the adult autistics?’ they ask. I’ll tell you where: hiding in plain sight.
I feel like a fraud whenever I discuss my Asperger’s because here I am, this put-together, functioning, articulate woman who expects people to believe her when she says she’s autistic.
“You don’t look autistic,” they tell me brightly, half compliment, half reassurance. But really… how could they possibly know?
PRELIMINARY FEASIBILITY OF HYPERLOOP TECHNOLOGY
Preliminary Feasibility of Hyperloop Technology
July 2020
Transport Canada commissioned AECOM to conduct a preliminary feasibility study of Hyperloop technology, to appraise two principal considerations:
· Can the Hyperloop concept be transformed into a viable technology that is safe for passengers and communities?
· Is the Hyperloop technology cost significantly more affordable than, or at least comparable to conventional High-Speed Rail or developing Maglev technologies?
Dissociation
A CNF flash piece that captures a pivotal shift in a young child's understanding of her world.
"Squish your toes into the creamy sheepskin rug and marvel at how they disappear—swallowed by softness...
You’re standing with your back to your mother’s bed, on the side furthest from the door, inhaling the melded scents of perfume and beeswax, of things carefully kept.
“Look at me when I’m speaking to you!”"
The China Tea Set
A flash piece that uses a child's china tea set as metaphor to descry a dysfunctional mother/daughter relationship.
"The china tea set, wrapped in tissue paper, nestles in its warped cardboard box on the shelf inside my mother’s wardrobe. She draws it down gently, as though not to wake it, places it on the bed, slides the lid off."
Will I Ever Be Accepted Into My Husband's Culture?
Culture can be captivating and deadly – like a Venus Fly-Trap. You may be screaming to break free of it or banging on the door to be admitted. I’ve been both...
Culture Crescendo
You'd be forgiven for thinking Toronto goes into hibernation as the temperature drops, but nothing could be further from the truth - it blazes with a conflagration of cultural events that brighten even the darkest days of winter...
Ob(liv)iously European
"I’d never realized before but that thing Canadians in particular hate so much? That lumping together of everyone who lives on the landmass known as North America? They do the exact same thing to those who live in Europe."
Coming In From The Cold
Aisha tells us how she transformed her life. Her story is truly inspirational and shows that even after years of pain and struggling, there is hope to come out of the cold and pull through.
Can You Feel The Love - A Canadian Valentine : Global Living Magazine
A British expat discovers Canada’s uplifting approach to Valentine’s Day.