See No Stranger: A Memoir and Manifesto of Revolutionary Love

Kaur tells about her father going to Punjab as a young man in search of a wife. He met Kaur’s mother and fell in love at first sight. They married within two weeks, and she went with him to his farm in California. It was a difficult life for Kaur’s mother, as her mother-in-law placed many difficult demands upon her, and they lived with her in-laws for many years. Kaur reflects on her mother’s sadness. As a child, Kaur suggested that her mother leave but quickly learned that women are expected to stay, even when it means shouldering hardships. As Kaur’s father aged, he became a better husband who acted more like a partner. They built their own home on family farmland and moved out from his parents’ house.

As an adult, Kaur met filmmaker Sharat Jaru at the Spinning Wheel Film Festival, where some of the footage from her thesis was shown. Sharat’s film was thematically like Kaur’s work, though fictional. Afterward, they began to talk every day about turning Kaur’s footage into a film. They later fell in love at the Art Institute of Chicago, where they shared a kiss. As their relationship developed, he helped her learn to not be ashamed of her body.