The secret diary of a British Muslim aged 13 3/4 - Tez Ilyas

The incredible Sunday Times bestseller

'Essential...A complex blend of overexcited Adrian Mole-like anecdotes mixed with shocking moments of racism and insights into Muslim religious practices' Sunday Times

'Authentic, funny and very relatable' - Sayeeda Warsi

In 1997, Britain was leading the way to an exciting new world order. A funny, loveable and nave 13-year-old Tez Ilyas from working class Blackburn wanted to be a doctor. By the end of 2001, the UK was at war with Afghanistan and Islamophobia had shot through the roof. 18-year-old Tez wasn't heading for a medical degree.


In this rollercoaster of a coming-of-age memoir, comedian Tez Ilyas takes us back to the working class, insular British Asian Muslim community that shaped the man he grew up to be. Full of rumbling hormones, mischief-making friends, family tragedy, racism Tez didn't yet understand and a growing respect for his religion, his childhood is both a nostalgic celebration of everything that made growing up in the 90s so special, and a reflection on how hardship needn't define the person you become.


At times shalwar-wetting hilarious and at others searingly sad, this is an eye-opening childhood memoir from a little-heard perspective that you'll be thinking about long after you've finished the last page.