Through Jamaican Lenses

Born and raised on the island of Jamaica, Fern June Khan has valued and embraced Jamaica in each stage of her life. Despite the island’s economic and educational challenges during her youth, Khan’s childhood was a colorful one, replete with the vibrant culture of the island, endlessly supportive role models, and a complex social tapestry. Her early experiences empowered Khan to develop an unwavering sense of self as she progressed into adulthood and moved to the United States. Through Jamaican Lenses: A Memoir celebrates Khan’s joyful upbringing, journey to a new environment, and her many educational and professional accomplishments. Centering on her early life in Jamaica in the 1940s and '50s, this memoir reveals Khan’s childhood as one rich with opportunities to observe and experience the complexities of Jamaican life and history. Khan’s childhood memories revel in the community’s vivid folklore, Jamaica's music and food, popular idioms and sayings, as well as the implications of