Desert Flower : The Extraordinary Journey Of A Desert Nomad

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Summary: It was the greatest book I've ever read!
Review: It's amazing what Waris has been trough and I really appreciate her courage to write things down. She immediately became an idol of mine. Beautiful strong woman. I now realise that I'm a very privileged woman.

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Summary: Difficult to put down after the first page.
Review: One of the best books I've read. Several days later and I'm unable to put her experiences out of my mind. I was horrified and astounded that things like FGM still goes on in the world today. Waris Dirie wrote an easy to read, difficult to put down, horrifying and heartwarming story. I would recommend this book to anyone.

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Summary: An insightful and moving autobiography
Review: I found this book very easy to read and difficult to put down. It brought up many emotions from laughter to tears as she discussed her life from her childhood in Somalia to her life as a model in London. This book caused me to reflect on my own life and gain a better understanding of those who live in the developing world. If you liked this you may also like 'Do They Hear You When You Cry' by Fauziya Kassindja.

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Summary: This book was very good!
Review: The author revealed how life is in rural Africa (specifically in Somalia). Everyone should get a chance to read this book. It makes a profound impact on one's view of life and how we should appreciate the freedom we have in making our own choices in the U.S.

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Summary: Simply amazing life story. Dirie has a lot to tell of.
Review: Attention-getter from the first page. An absolutely beautiful women and a determined manner that only adds to her beauty. From the way she defended herself to expressing how she feels throughout the book, developed a level of respect in me. FGM is outragous to me, but it's hard to tell a culture that something they've been doing for hundreds of years is all of a sudden wrong. It would be like a foreigner coming to your front door and telling you that women should never wear pants, only dresses. He would be ignored. So I can understand why the elimination of genital mutalation is so hard to acheive. I usually don't read a bunch, but I had to read this book for a women's studies course. I'm glad I didn't miss out and neither should anyone!

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Summary: Gripping story of triumph over adversity
Review: Waris tells an engaging story of her life, encountering a series of stumbling blocks and persevering through them all. The difficult childhood (by western standards) that she endured seems to have prepared her emotionally for the worst of it. Most of the story takes place in cities, London and New York. I was left wanting to hear more about her youth in Mogadishu and especially the desert, as these are unfamiliar places to me, and what was told was interesting.

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Summary: Enlightening and readable
Review: Waris Dirie gives an honest account of her life from it's beginnings as a nomadic goat herder in Somalia and her circuitous route to becoming an internationally known fashion model. She describes with humor her ignorance of Western culture upon arriving in England as a teenager to serve as a maid for the Somalian ambassador, such as her first experience with using a toilet. Her most vivid description is of the horrific female circumcision she endured as a five year old. Waris Dirie is now a spokesperson for the elimination of female circumcision and makes a compelling argument as she describes the many negative effects this procedure had on her physical and emotional well-being.

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Summary: The most insperational book I've read
Review: From the moment Waris is born, her fate is sealed as a woman who will work untill she dies, and in between be a slave to her superiours and her husband. But headstrong, opinionated, and filled with unswayable strength, she takes a much different course of life from what her nomadic culture demands she be. This extrodinary biography describes in perfect detail her journey through seemingly unconcurable feats that leaves the reader gasping for breath with laughter and having to put the book down because you cant see for tears. It was passed on twice before it was given to me to read, and I've allready promised it to three others in my family. Waris is my new hero.

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Summary: HEART WARMING, MUST READ!!!!
Review: This book grabbed me from the first page, and I could not put it down! This is the best NON-Fiction book that I have ever read! Her story moved me with the vivid images of growing up in a Somalian desert, and the torture that innocent little girls have to endure through female genital mutilation. We can all gain from Waris Dirie's incredible strength and her tremendous will to live, in order to make a better life for herself, and her family. I plan to share this book with my family and friends.

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Summary: Extraordinary images that will live in your heart.
Review: Waris Dirie has lived a life that all can gainfrom. The victory of the Human Spirit over someobstacles that few in the Western World haveever experienced, presented in a graphic andhumble manner, will bond you to her forever. She started as a nomadic child of the Somaliandesert, and most likely would have lived out her life in obscurity, but fate and her strongspirit has transformed her into a valid heroinefor our times. This is a must read! A book youwill hand-carry to your best friends and insistthat they read it.