Wüstenblume

Waris Dirie was born into a nomadic family in Somalia, was subjected to female genital mutilation at the age of five, and was promised in marriage at thirteen to an old man. She ran away across the desert to Mogadishu, then to London, where she worked as a maid and was discovered by a photographer while working at a fast-food restaurant. She became an international model. The book tells this path from childhood to fame, and what she did afterwards: speaking out as a UN ambassador against female genital mutilation.

Readers who like survival memoirs and want to understand the lives of women in nomadic cultures will find a direct, vivid account. It makes a strong case for why this practice must end.

Inward-looking and clear-cut; an easy read.

Best for readers like The Escapist Adventurer. Which reader are you?