Writing my way
into a life
that’s mine.
I’m Shirin, a Pakistani-American writer and sommelier. I pair books with wine and write about culture, identity, and the messy art of reinvention.
I’m still figuring things out. If you are too, come join me on I Can’t Not.
On Substack · Free essays, with optional paid extras.
Featured in Business Insider
I passed out at 4 a.m. in my bathroom. 3 months later, I decided to walk 73 miles across Spain to conquer my anxiety.
Read my essay in Business InsiderMy publication on Substack
I Can’t Not
Books, wine, and becoming the author of your own life.
For every reader
Free
Personal essays on womanhood, identity, and reinvention, plus Decant, my monthly book-and-wine column. You’ll hear from me roughly twice a month. The essays come with wine pairings, too.
For a little more
$5 a month or $50 a year
Everything free readers receive, plus two additional pieces each month:
- Decant at Home
- Discussion questions, wine guidance, and ideas for an evening with the book—on your own or with your book club.
- I Can’t Even
- Your real-life questions, thought through with books, lived experience, and a wine to go with them.
Includes the paid archive. Your support helps me build a life around this work.
Choose free or paid on Substack.
Naked
Rain
My first memoir
A mother. A daughter.
A hurricane.
Manuscript complete.
Currently seeking representation.
At the end of the walk.
I went to Spain to learn to trust my body again.
After a fall and a concussion, I set out to walk seventy-three miles of the Camino de Santiago. I didn’t even like hiking. Then a hurricane arrived—and with it, the childhood I thought I had left behind.
Naked Rain follows six days on the trail and the much longer work of separating love from obligation. It’s about being a Pakistani-American daughter, reclaiming a buried desire to write, and learning that loving my mother doesn’t have to mean living the life she imagined for me.
On finishing the manuscriptA few places to begin.
All essays on SubstackEdna Pontellier Never Died
The Awakening, reimagined for the twenty-first century.
Read the essayMother
On motherhood, selfhood, and the identities and expectations we inherit.
Read the essayYou Can See Everything—Except the Truth
On monuments to love and the subjective nature of truth.
Read the essay
Decant
Books, meet wine.
Each month on I Can’t Not, I spend time with a book, follow the questions it leaves behind, and choose a wine that belongs alongside it.
You don’t need to have read the book or know how to pronounce the grape. Curiosity will do.
For paid readers, Decant at Home helps you make an evening of it, with discussion questions, wine guidance, and ideas for your book club—or a night entirely to yourself.
Come into DecantDecant at Home · Paid companion
What We Carry ForwardA taste of Decant
Edna Pontellier Never Died
The Awakening × MoschofileroWhat if Edna’s story could have a different ending? Kate Chopin’s classic, read through a life in 2026, with a Greek white wine that brings roses, citrus, and the sea to the glass.
Read the essay & wine pairingHi, I’m Shirin.
I was born in Karachi, raised in Texas, and now live in San Francisco. I’m a writer, sommelier, and recovering corporate climber. In January 2026, I left my tech job to give writing the space I’d spent years promising it.
I’ve taught wine workshops in a Mission District loft, walked through a hurricane in Spain, and written my first memoir. I’m interested in the lives we inherit, the ones we choose, and the books that get under our skin. And, of course, what wine to drink while figuring it all out.
If you’ve ever looked at the life you built and wondered whose handwriting it was in, you might feel at home here. Tell me what you’re reading, what’s bothering you, or what question you keep circling. I’d love to hear from you.
Let’s talk.
Tell me what you’re reading or what question you keep coming back to. I’m also here for publishing inquiries, collaborations, or just a hello.
write@shirinahmadi.com