Desert Flower : The Extraordinary Journey Of A Desert Nomad

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Summary: A story of remarkable courage
Review: We were very impressed by reading this book and learning about such an extraordinary life as Waris had. Once we began reading we could hardly stop because her story is so fascinating and moving. Her way of telling about her whole life is quite simple and very emotional. We often wondered about the fact of having as much luck as Waris had. But in the end we couldn`t decide if her life really was full of luck. There have been many hard times for her and her courage to overcome all these difficulties is admirable. She has been in very bad situations and her way of dealing with them shows her different mentality. As a conclusion we`d like to say that we are glad to have read "Desert Flower" in our English lesson because this book is not one to read and forget about. It tells the true story of a fascinating life.

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Summary: Interesting, but not likely to happen again
Review: Waris' story is a remarkable one but seems to be quite unbelievable to me. You could see that she did not write the book herself. Flaws in her character (like for example the habit of exploiding other people in order to achieve her goals -> Nigel) are not really shown. The way she talks about FGM make Western readers feel superior to the Somalian culture although it is very shocking to read. Waris' story is obviously interesting but at the same time extremely unbelievable and not likely to happen again.

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Summary: The best book I've ever read
Review: When I started reading Desert Flower by Waris Dirie I was not really interested in the theme the text deals with. But step by step I got more and more curious. Waris Dirie didn't write chronologically and that makes the book interesting. By describing her feelings and emotions she allows the reader to be part of her story. The book is written very subjective, which is usual for personal report. Waris tells her story of her life in very detail. She picked out many special problems with which she had to deal. Admiring Waris Dirie and her story, I give her five out of five stars!

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Summary: Miracles still happen
Review: I am a German high-school student and I read "Desert Flower" in my English class. Normally I would not have read a book like that. It is not the type of book I would pick out of a bookshelter. But in this case I really liked the book. I could not stop reading. It was described really well, you could feel with Waris through the situations the poor little girl had to go through. All her emotions and worries were so real and touching, they just overwhelmed me. Her life is almost like a miracle from the bible and at some parts it is a little bit overemphasised how lucky she was. But it is still good to know that miracles happen even in our days. It is also interesting for me to see that there is an alternative to our stressful life. There is a way to stick to yourself and she shows it to everyone.

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Summary: Compelling and heart wrenching!
Review: Waris took me with her back in time. I felt as though it was happening to me. I could feel her pain and suffering. A life of any female child is hard, but this was something I could never have imagined in a million years. The strength and courage it took to tell her story, can never be imagined. When I read the part about her FGM, I had to run to the bathroom, to keep from messing up my bed. This book shows that the plight of women have a long, long way to go, to be changed. At a young age she worked harder than most retired adults have ever worked. It seems as though a lot of men are the same all over the world, no care about a woman except what they can get from her. The way her Aunt in London treated her, seemed to give her cousin permission to molest her. Was she safe anywhere? Not at home with her mother, father, and siblings, and most definately not on the road looking for her family. She did not have a safe haven with her other relatives. It took a stranger to let her see that everybody was not the same. One day, all women will be free like men, but until that day, more women like Waris must come forward and tell their story, no matter how disturbiing it is. Women and especially men must see the injustice that is being done on a daily basis.

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Summary: Read it cover to cover in one sitting
Review: I just couldn't put this book down. A fascinating biography of Waris Dirie. I saw a photo of her once in a fashion magazine and a blurb beside it saying she was a spokesperson for the UN against female genital mutilation. When I read what that was and saw her beautiful face and knew this happened to her I started to cry and could not stop. And now I have read her whole book and know about her whole intriquing life. The rest of her story is also very interesting (and I never thought I would have any interest in reading about fashion models lives in that industry). The best part of the book is about her childhood in Somali IMO though as it is so exotic to the Western lifestyle. Waris is very brave to speak out about female genital mutilation in Africa to a very biased audience. She is also brave to tell her own personal experience with the "killer" as she calls the old woman who mutilated her severly at age 5 with a rusty, broken razor out in the desert. To think that this horrible thing has happened to 130 million women who are alive now as the UN states is so shocking! It MUST stop.

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Summary: I'm a better person after reading this book!
Review: I don't quite know how to put my feelings for this book...this woman's journey into words. I would just like to urge women (especially) to read this book. Waris Dirie is a true inspiration and I truly admire her and thank her for the honesty and reflections.

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Summary: a real story
Review: a real story that saw to us about the power we have inside our heart to face all our promblems

Rating:
Summary: AMAZING!!!
Review: From the first page I was virtually unable to put this book down; after the last page it's images haunted me. Beautifully written - an absolute must read for all women! Waris Dirie is as strong as she is beautiful and this book is sure to help mobilize more people to join the fight to eradicate female genital mutilation.

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Summary: The couregeous Waris
Review: As a Somalian I went through the same experience of circumcision and as I was reading desert flower painful memories came back to me... I was not able to talk about it with my own soul, I have always tried to avoid to remember that day but Waris was courageous to talk about it which is not an easy thing to talk about it when you are a Somali. Keep fighting against the FGM and you are not alone. I am proud of you.