A Sheffield based author has made history with her new self published book highlighting the stories of migrant women in the city.
Livia Barreira’s book, ‘Living in Sheffield: Our journey as migrant women’, covers the story of migration in Sheffield told by eight different women.
Originally from Brazil, Livia said: “I have read plenty of books about migration in Sheffield but never a book written by a migrant. I wanted to make sure we had this book to show the foreigner’s perspective.
“I wanted to highlight these people, not just the women in the book but also the migrant professionals behind the book.
“We need to appreciate what these migrants are contributing to the economy of the city, the cultural aspect, all types of different things.”
Ten years ago, Livia met her now husband Dean while backpacking around Europe. After four years of long distance, Livia and Dean settled in Sheffield where Livia has since fallen in love with the city.
Livia said: “I think it’s the people that make Sheffield special, they are very welcoming and there is a strong community spirit.
“Yes, I came here first for Dean but now I’m building my own path.
“Sometimes women make this big move for love, to be with a guy, and then maybe they forget about themselves. I am a journalist, it’s a very important part of me. I want to contribute to the community as well.”
Livia is a self published author and relied on the kindness of strangers to get her book to the shelves. Talking about her crowdfunding campaign, she said: “It was a very long four weeks, I was really anxious about completing the target.
“I was expecting probably my dad, my husband, a couple of friends to contribute but I was so happy to see complete strangers supporting it.”
Her book can be found in the recently established local feminist bookshop Juno Books and Livia emphasises the need for women to support each other, saying: “It made sense to me, having my book there, I felt my values connected with them.”
As well as her book, Livia also runs an instagram page called ‘Living in Sheffield’ through which she celebrates diversity and promotes events happening all over the city.
