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The Last Nomad: Coming of Age in the Somali Desert
A remarkable and inspiring true story that "stuns with raw beauty" about one woman's resilience, her courageous journey to America, and her family's lost way of life.
Finalist for the 2022 Dayton Literary Peace Prize Nonfiction Award
Winner of the 2022 Gold Nautilus Award, Multicultural & Indigenous Category
Born in Somalia, a spare daughter in a large family, Shugri Said Salh was sent at age six to live with her nomadic grandmother in the desert. The last of her family to learn this once-common way of life, Salh found herself chasing warthogs, climbing termite hills, herding goats, and moving constantly in search of water and grazing lands with her nomadic family. For Salh, though the desert was a harsh place threatened by drought, predators, and enemy clans, it also held beauty, innovation, centuries of tradition, and a way for a young Sufi girl to learn courage and independence from a fearless group of relatives. Salh grew to love the freedom of roaming with her animals and the powerful feeling of community found in nomadic rituals and the oral storytelling of her ancestors.
As she came of age, though, both she and her beloved Somalia were forced to confront change, violence, and instability. Salh writes with engaging frankness and a fierce feminism of trying to break free of the patriarchal beliefs of her culture, of her forced female genital mutilation, of the loss of her mother, and of her growing need for independence. Taken from the desert by her strict father and then displaced along with millions of others by the Somali Civil War, Salh fled first to a refugee camp on the Kenyan border and ultimately to North America to learn yet another way of life.
Readers will fall in love with Salh on the page as she tells her inspiring story about leaving Africa, learning English, finding love, and embracing a new horizon for herself and her family. Honest and tender, The Last Nomad is a riveting coming-of-age story of resilience, survival, and the shifting definitions of home.
Finalist for the 2022 Dayton Literary Peace Prize Nonfiction Award
Winner of the 2022 Gold Nautilus Award, Multicultural & Indigenous Category
Born in Somalia, a spare daughter in a large family, Shugri Said Salh was sent at age six to live with her nomadic grandmother in the desert. The last of her family to learn this once-common way of life, Salh found herself chasing warthogs, climbing termite hills, herding goats, and moving constantly in search of water and grazing lands with her nomadic family. For Salh, though the desert was a harsh place threatened by drought, predators, and enemy clans, it also held beauty, innovation, centuries of tradition, and a way for a young Sufi girl to learn courage and independence from a fearless group of relatives. Salh grew to love the freedom of roaming with her animals and the powerful feeling of community found in nomadic rituals and the oral storytelling of her ancestors.
As she came of age, though, both she and her beloved Somalia were forced to confront change, violence, and instability. Salh writes with engaging frankness and a fierce feminism of trying to break free of the patriarchal beliefs of her culture, of her forced female genital mutilation, of the loss of her mother, and of her growing need for independence. Taken from the desert by her strict father and then displaced along with millions of others by the Somali Civil War, Salh fled first to a refugee camp on the Kenyan border and ultimately to North America to learn yet another way of life.
Readers will fall in love with Salh on the page as she tells her inspiring story about leaving Africa, learning English, finding love, and embracing a new horizon for herself and her family. Honest and tender, The Last Nomad is a riveting coming-of-age story of resilience, survival, and the shifting definitions of home.
320 pages, Paperback
First published August 3, 2021
102 people are currently reading
6412 people want to read
About the author
Shugri Said Salh
2 books32 followersShugri Salh is author of the memoir The Last Nomad (Algonquin, 2021) and a supporting actor in the Apple TV+ “Little America” episode set in an immigrant Somali community.
She was born in the desert of Somalia in 1974 and spent her early years living with her grandmother in the desert as a nomad. In 1992, after the civil war broke out in her home country, she emigrated to North America. She attended nursing school at Pacific Union college and graduated with honors.
Shugri has been storytelling since she could talk. From her grandmother and the nomadic community in which she was raised, she heard stories and learned of their power to entertain, teach, and transform. When she isn’t writing or telling stories, she works as an infusion nurse. Shugri Salh lives in San Diego with her husband and three children.
She was born in the desert of Somalia in 1974 and spent her early years living with her grandmother in the desert as a nomad. In 1992, after the civil war broke out in her home country, she emigrated to North America. She attended nursing school at Pacific Union college and graduated with honors.
Shugri has been storytelling since she could talk. From her grandmother and the nomadic community in which she was raised, she heard stories and learned of their power to entertain, teach, and transform. When she isn’t writing or telling stories, she works as an infusion nurse. Shugri Salh lives in San Diego with her husband and three children.
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August 1, 2021
“I am the last nomad. My ancestors traveled the East African desert in search of grazing land for their livestock, and the most precious resource of all—water. When they exhausted the land and the clouds disappeared from the horizon, their accumulated ancestral knowledge told them where to move next to find greener pastures. They loaded their huts and belongings onto their most obedient camels and herded their livestock to a new home.”
Shugri Said Salh's memoir details the time from when she was six years old and her mother sent her to live with her Ayeeyo (Grandmother), a nomad living in the dessert. She left behind life in the city, her siblings, her mother, her father and his many wives. Shugri Said Salih wrote "This is the legacy of my ancestors that I want to leave behind me for my children - and my readers."
By leaving them behind she became the last nomad of her family. The dessert was many things for her - a place to play, a place of hunger, a place of drought, a place of extreme beauty, a place of freedom, a place full of predators, a place of community and a place which held the history of her ancestors. History is a very important thing to those living in Somali. Children can recite the names of their forefathers all the way back to the original four clans.
"When an elder dies, a library is burned." - An African Proverb.
It is no wonder that the author wanted to tell her history. She begins her chapters with a Somali proverb. She also shares nomadic traditions including a procedure called gudniin -female circumcision. It is a normal part of Somali culture and that young girls look forward to this as they want to be seen as "clean" and not "dirty."
Shugri Said Salh does move back to the city to be with her family leaving her beloved Ayeeyo behind. She shares of her mother's death, her pain of not having a photograph of her, of being forced to flee when there is a civil war. She had to flee to Kenya, Canada and finally to the United States. She faced hardships, was homeless, was introduced new lands with modern devices which were foreign to her.
While reading this memoir, I couldn't help but admire and be impressed by her resiliency. She was brave in ways many of us never have to be. While reading this memoir, I couldn't help but think could I have lived through this? How did she survive? From the moment she was born, she was taught and conditioned for a nomadic life. Her Ayeeyo and the dessert were her teachers. She bravely faced her female circumcision, she fought back when under attack, and she endured and preserved. She is a survivor.
This memoir not only paints a picture of the author's life but gives readers a glimpse into another culture. Readers will learn about Somali tradition, customs and survival. I felt for her, I cheered for her, and I enjoyed her story. I admired her strength and courage. This is a moving, well written and captivating memoir.
I was moved by her words about her Ayeeyo (grandmother) "She commanded the dessert with authority, and I watched her every move with deep admiration. My Ayeeyo was my hero, who left me with the belief that I am enough."
Powerful, moving, informative and gripping!
Thank you to Algonquin Books and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
Read more of my reviews at www.openbookposts.com
Shugri Said Salh's memoir details the time from when she was six years old and her mother sent her to live with her Ayeeyo (Grandmother), a nomad living in the dessert. She left behind life in the city, her siblings, her mother, her father and his many wives. Shugri Said Salih wrote "This is the legacy of my ancestors that I want to leave behind me for my children - and my readers."
By leaving them behind she became the last nomad of her family. The dessert was many things for her - a place to play, a place of hunger, a place of drought, a place of extreme beauty, a place of freedom, a place full of predators, a place of community and a place which held the history of her ancestors. History is a very important thing to those living in Somali. Children can recite the names of their forefathers all the way back to the original four clans.
"When an elder dies, a library is burned." - An African Proverb.
It is no wonder that the author wanted to tell her history. She begins her chapters with a Somali proverb. She also shares nomadic traditions including a procedure called gudniin -female circumcision. It is a normal part of Somali culture and that young girls look forward to this as they want to be seen as "clean" and not "dirty."
Shugri Said Salh does move back to the city to be with her family leaving her beloved Ayeeyo behind. She shares of her mother's death, her pain of not having a photograph of her, of being forced to flee when there is a civil war. She had to flee to Kenya, Canada and finally to the United States. She faced hardships, was homeless, was introduced new lands with modern devices which were foreign to her.
While reading this memoir, I couldn't help but admire and be impressed by her resiliency. She was brave in ways many of us never have to be. While reading this memoir, I couldn't help but think could I have lived through this? How did she survive? From the moment she was born, she was taught and conditioned for a nomadic life. Her Ayeeyo and the dessert were her teachers. She bravely faced her female circumcision, she fought back when under attack, and she endured and preserved. She is a survivor.
This memoir not only paints a picture of the author's life but gives readers a glimpse into another culture. Readers will learn about Somali tradition, customs and survival. I felt for her, I cheered for her, and I enjoyed her story. I admired her strength and courage. This is a moving, well written and captivating memoir.
I was moved by her words about her Ayeeyo (grandmother) "She commanded the dessert with authority, and I watched her every move with deep admiration. My Ayeeyo was my hero, who left me with the belief that I am enough."
Powerful, moving, informative and gripping!
Thank you to Algonquin Books and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
Read more of my reviews at www.openbookposts.com
Read
August 4, 2021An old African proverb says, “When an elder dies, a library is burned.” I am not yet an elder, but I do feel like a portal between two worlds . . .
In this newly-published memoir, Shugri Said Salh takes the reader from the time she was six years old, and sent to live with her grandmother in the desert, to her escape from war-torn Somalia and the beginning of her new life in Canada.
The thing the reader ought to know up front is that there is some graphic stuff in this memoir. Some of it is what you might expect when a country is ripped apart by war, when the social order is destroyed, but much of it is age-old custom, which firmly maintains women as subordinate to men—a situation that considerably worsened when a new and ultra-conservative form of Islam spread across that part of Africa. As always, war, and male-dominated reinterpretation of Islam’s holy writ, is toughest on the old, young, and disabled, and most especially on the women.
Not that women don’t have their place in maintaining customs that make the rest of the world flinch. When she was eight years old, it was the women of the clan who took her to be “circumcised.” With the clarity and dignity that highlights the entire book, Shugri Said Salh explains the thinking behind this cruel custom, and why it’s still carried out to this day.
Dignity is a significant theme in this memoir. Early on, she lovingly describes her ayeeyo (grandmother)’s life in the desert, which was precariously balanced between drought and predatory animals; the grandmother never knew how to read, but her insight and compassion, her strength, are conveyed through the stream of small anecdotes that make up the early chapters, demonstrating the powerful effect ayeeyo had on Shugri Said Sahl’s life.
The opening might seem confusing, as Shugri Said Salh does some jinking back and forth in time, but the narrative settles into a linear progression fairly soon, particularly when she is able to rely on her own memories, rather than piecing early childhood glimpses with what she was subsequently told by other relatives.
One of the most complex of her relatives is her father, a teacher and a holy man, who insisted that his many daughters (he had twenty-three children by various wives over the decades) be educated, in spite of the prevailing custom that only sons ought to be schooled. Her father said, “if you educate a son, you educate one person, but if you educate a daughter, you educate the whole community.” But this father’s teaching method was extreme physical cruelty: if his children did not memorize lessons to his satisfaction. His beatings resulted in emotional as well as physical trauma.
After her beloved mother died, she ended up living in various places, including an orphanage, which was her first exposure to white people and Western culture. She describes, with vivid images, life in Mogadishu, which was slowly eroding toward war. Again, with that sense of humane balance, she describes the benefits of living under the dictator who controlled the country, before getting to the fallout of the dictator’s less admirable practices.
And after that, the memoir takes a turn toward grim as she describes life as a teenager in a country descending into the horrors of war. But the book is not all horror. She learned the art of storytelling from her grandmother, and that shows in the skillful way the book is written. There are countless anecdotes that paint vivid glimpses of various personalities, including the strong Somali appreciation for poetry, all woven together with a thread of humor. Even in the midst of terrible destruction, there are moments of laughter, such as when a fine red dress has the unexpected result of causing a camel to become, ahem, amorous.
The book does need advisory warnings of all kinds, including animal cruelty as well as depiction of the human side of grim statistics about women, but Shugri Said Sahl never lets the reader forget the dignity, generosity, and worth of the women who helped shape her into who she is today. I began this book intending to dip into it over a series of nights and ended up so engrossed I read it all in one sitting.
Copy provided by NetGalley
In this newly-published memoir, Shugri Said Salh takes the reader from the time she was six years old, and sent to live with her grandmother in the desert, to her escape from war-torn Somalia and the beginning of her new life in Canada.
The thing the reader ought to know up front is that there is some graphic stuff in this memoir. Some of it is what you might expect when a country is ripped apart by war, when the social order is destroyed, but much of it is age-old custom, which firmly maintains women as subordinate to men—a situation that considerably worsened when a new and ultra-conservative form of Islam spread across that part of Africa. As always, war, and male-dominated reinterpretation of Islam’s holy writ, is toughest on the old, young, and disabled, and most especially on the women.
Not that women don’t have their place in maintaining customs that make the rest of the world flinch. When she was eight years old, it was the women of the clan who took her to be “circumcised.” With the clarity and dignity that highlights the entire book, Shugri Said Salh explains the thinking behind this cruel custom, and why it’s still carried out to this day.
Dignity is a significant theme in this memoir. Early on, she lovingly describes her ayeeyo (grandmother)’s life in the desert, which was precariously balanced between drought and predatory animals; the grandmother never knew how to read, but her insight and compassion, her strength, are conveyed through the stream of small anecdotes that make up the early chapters, demonstrating the powerful effect ayeeyo had on Shugri Said Sahl’s life.
The opening might seem confusing, as Shugri Said Salh does some jinking back and forth in time, but the narrative settles into a linear progression fairly soon, particularly when she is able to rely on her own memories, rather than piecing early childhood glimpses with what she was subsequently told by other relatives.
One of the most complex of her relatives is her father, a teacher and a holy man, who insisted that his many daughters (he had twenty-three children by various wives over the decades) be educated, in spite of the prevailing custom that only sons ought to be schooled. Her father said, “if you educate a son, you educate one person, but if you educate a daughter, you educate the whole community.” But this father’s teaching method was extreme physical cruelty: if his children did not memorize lessons to his satisfaction. His beatings resulted in emotional as well as physical trauma.
After her beloved mother died, she ended up living in various places, including an orphanage, which was her first exposure to white people and Western culture. She describes, with vivid images, life in Mogadishu, which was slowly eroding toward war. Again, with that sense of humane balance, she describes the benefits of living under the dictator who controlled the country, before getting to the fallout of the dictator’s less admirable practices.
And after that, the memoir takes a turn toward grim as she describes life as a teenager in a country descending into the horrors of war. But the book is not all horror. She learned the art of storytelling from her grandmother, and that shows in the skillful way the book is written. There are countless anecdotes that paint vivid glimpses of various personalities, including the strong Somali appreciation for poetry, all woven together with a thread of humor. Even in the midst of terrible destruction, there are moments of laughter, such as when a fine red dress has the unexpected result of causing a camel to become, ahem, amorous.
The book does need advisory warnings of all kinds, including animal cruelty as well as depiction of the human side of grim statistics about women, but Shugri Said Sahl never lets the reader forget the dignity, generosity, and worth of the women who helped shape her into who she is today. I began this book intending to dip into it over a series of nights and ended up so engrossed I read it all in one sitting.
Copy provided by NetGalley
July 12, 2021
I am the last nomad…I am the last person in my direct line to have once lived like that, and now I feel like the sole keeper of my family’s stories. from The Last Nomand by Shugri Said Sahl
A popular says that before you judge a person, walk a mile in their shoes. I would not have lasted a mile in Shugri Said Salh’s shoes. Maybe not even a half mile. And not just because she spent her childhood as a nomadic goat herder in the harsh landscape of Somalia. She survived a changing world, time in an orphanage, war, a refugee camp, starvation, and immigration to a foreign land. Her memoir reveals a woman of such strength and determination that few can equal her. For all the terrors she witnessed, she knew what she wanted, who she wanted to be. She gained an education, found her life partner, and thrives in her life in 21st c. America. But note that it was Canada that accepted her immigration.
Shugro Said Salh does not wring our hearts for pity. She loved her heritage and country and her way of life even while recognizing their faults. She had great adoration and respect for her grandmother and mother, their beauty and strength, and she bristles at how they were treated.
She thrived under a dictator who advanced equal education for girls; her teacher father taught, “if you educate a son, you educate one person, but if you educate a daughter, you educate the whole community.” She found role models and assistance to help her become the woman she wanted to be. She does not pity herself for undergoing female circumcision as a girl since it was an age old tradition, although as a nurse she recognizes its negative impact on women’s lives and its consequences on female health and sexuality.
What she does bemoan is her country’s division, the clan warfare, the religious fanaticism, and the violence inflicted by people on their own countrymen. It is a story that can send chills down one’s spine, especially when looking at America today and seeing the deep divisions fomenting violence and hatred.
Her memories of nomadic life is rendered with great beauty. Her honest acceptance of some of the traditions may disturb some readers, as will stories of life under war. “Survival is woven into the fabric of who I am,” she writes.
I could feel the author’s urgency to tell her story before her world is forgotten. “Stories have always created understanding and connection between humans,” she writes. Some of her happiest memories were of the storytelling around the campfires in the desert nights. Now, she has become a story teller. She will entertain you, and horrify you, and inspire you. Hopefully, her stories will create an understanding of people from a world far removed from your own, and nurture respect.
An old African proverb says, When an elder dies, a library is burned. I an not yet an elder, but I do feel like a portal between two worlds. from The Last Nomad by Shugri Said Salh
I received a free egalley from the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased.
A popular says that before you judge a person, walk a mile in their shoes. I would not have lasted a mile in Shugri Said Salh’s shoes. Maybe not even a half mile. And not just because she spent her childhood as a nomadic goat herder in the harsh landscape of Somalia. She survived a changing world, time in an orphanage, war, a refugee camp, starvation, and immigration to a foreign land. Her memoir reveals a woman of such strength and determination that few can equal her. For all the terrors she witnessed, she knew what she wanted, who she wanted to be. She gained an education, found her life partner, and thrives in her life in 21st c. America. But note that it was Canada that accepted her immigration.
Shugro Said Salh does not wring our hearts for pity. She loved her heritage and country and her way of life even while recognizing their faults. She had great adoration and respect for her grandmother and mother, their beauty and strength, and she bristles at how they were treated.
She thrived under a dictator who advanced equal education for girls; her teacher father taught, “if you educate a son, you educate one person, but if you educate a daughter, you educate the whole community.” She found role models and assistance to help her become the woman she wanted to be. She does not pity herself for undergoing female circumcision as a girl since it was an age old tradition, although as a nurse she recognizes its negative impact on women’s lives and its consequences on female health and sexuality.
What she does bemoan is her country’s division, the clan warfare, the religious fanaticism, and the violence inflicted by people on their own countrymen. It is a story that can send chills down one’s spine, especially when looking at America today and seeing the deep divisions fomenting violence and hatred.
Her memories of nomadic life is rendered with great beauty. Her honest acceptance of some of the traditions may disturb some readers, as will stories of life under war. “Survival is woven into the fabric of who I am,” she writes.
I could feel the author’s urgency to tell her story before her world is forgotten. “Stories have always created understanding and connection between humans,” she writes. Some of her happiest memories were of the storytelling around the campfires in the desert nights. Now, she has become a story teller. She will entertain you, and horrify you, and inspire you. Hopefully, her stories will create an understanding of people from a world far removed from your own, and nurture respect.
An old African proverb says, When an elder dies, a library is burned. I an not yet an elder, but I do feel like a portal between two worlds. from The Last Nomad by Shugri Said Salh
I received a free egalley from the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased.
January 7, 2026
The Last Nomad is a brutal yet tender look at the strict gender roles and purity culture of Somalia before the civil war, with sprinklings of the joy, beauty, and wonder of a disappearing culture.
An incredibly difficult read with one particularly graphic scene that I will never forget, but surprisingly full of nostalgia and hope, as well.
Trigger/Content Warnings: child abuse/physical abuse, purity culture and sexual assault, animal death and cruelty, sexism, death of a parent, FGM* (very graphic), sexual assault of a child, blood and gore, murder, gun violence, housing insecurity
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An incredibly difficult read with one particularly graphic scene that I will never forget, but surprisingly full of nostalgia and hope, as well.
Trigger/Content Warnings: child abuse/physical abuse, purity culture and sexual assault, animal death and cruelty, sexism, death of a parent, FGM* (very graphic), sexual assault of a child, blood and gore, murder, gun violence, housing insecurity
You can find me on...
Youtube | Instagram | TikTok
You can join our book club over on Patreon...
PBB Book Club
Read
September 10, 2021An old African proverb says, “When an elder dies, a library is burned.” I am not yet an elder, but I do feel like a portal between two worlds . . .
An incredible memoir! Follows Shugri Said Salh's experience growing up as a nomadic goat herder being taught ancestral ways by her Ayeeyo. And then goes into her later life including living through Somalia's civil war to become a refugee in Kenya and her move from Nairobi to Ottawa and then Toronto. I listened to the audiobook and I thought it was so well narrated. There are definitely some graphic, confronting and uncomfortable portions of this book - but I felt Shugri Said Salh did an incredible job doing what she set out to do - pass along and share stories of her people and life.
June 29, 2025
A well-written, informative, and interesting coming-of-age memoir about a Somali girl, spanning from her childhood with her nomadic grandmother, life in the city with her family, escaping during the civil war to Kenya and then Canada, and finally growing into a young adult who honored her culture and ancestry while also choosing to embrace parts of her new home. It’s part heartbreaking, part educational, and all inspiring.
August 4, 2021
4.5 stars
Compelling, transformative, and reflective—this memoir of "the last nomad" is a must-read for fans of memoir and nonfiction.
Writing: ★★★★
Engagement: ★★★★★
Pacing: ★★★ 1/2
The Last Nomad is one of those books where it arrived to my house, I said "oh, let me get a feel for the writing...I'll just read the first page" and then 45 minutes later, I realized I was several chapters in and fully, completely invested in the story.
The best type of book, am I right?
Shugri Said Salh's compelling memoir details her experience as her family's "last" nomad. Now, as she immediately explains, Salh knows she is not the literal "last nomad" in the world. Not by a long shot. But for her familial line, generations of whom had existed similar lives as nomads in the Somali deserts, Salh IS their last nomad—her upbringing as a nomad transformed into her adulthood as a mother living in present-day suburban California.
What does it mean to straddle two lifestyles, worlds, and realities so dramatically?
From survival to excess, the hunt for water to the overabundance of brand options, the intimate oral histories of your elders to the immediacy of the now at the cost of the internal memory, The Last Nomad highlight's Salh's desire to record her story for posterity and for her children to keep the link to the past within her and her family. And, luckily, for us readers too. She quotes the African proverb, "when an elder dies, a library burns" and with this poignant remark as a touchstone, she walks us through her life experiences.
I don't want to get too specific with her stories, as it would merely be a pale regurgitation of Salh's own words, so take my word for it—The Last Nomad is one-of-a-kind. It'll linger with me for some time.
Many thanks to the publish for my copy in exchange for an honest review.
Blog | Instagram
Compelling, transformative, and reflective—this memoir of "the last nomad" is a must-read for fans of memoir and nonfiction.
Writing: ★★★★
Engagement: ★★★★★
Pacing: ★★★ 1/2
The Last Nomad is one of those books where it arrived to my house, I said "oh, let me get a feel for the writing...I'll just read the first page" and then 45 minutes later, I realized I was several chapters in and fully, completely invested in the story.
The best type of book, am I right?
Shugri Said Salh's compelling memoir details her experience as her family's "last" nomad. Now, as she immediately explains, Salh knows she is not the literal "last nomad" in the world. Not by a long shot. But for her familial line, generations of whom had existed similar lives as nomads in the Somali deserts, Salh IS their last nomad—her upbringing as a nomad transformed into her adulthood as a mother living in present-day suburban California.
What does it mean to straddle two lifestyles, worlds, and realities so dramatically?
From survival to excess, the hunt for water to the overabundance of brand options, the intimate oral histories of your elders to the immediacy of the now at the cost of the internal memory, The Last Nomad highlight's Salh's desire to record her story for posterity and for her children to keep the link to the past within her and her family. And, luckily, for us readers too. She quotes the African proverb, "when an elder dies, a library burns" and with this poignant remark as a touchstone, she walks us through her life experiences.
I don't want to get too specific with her stories, as it would merely be a pale regurgitation of Salh's own words, so take my word for it—The Last Nomad is one-of-a-kind. It'll linger with me for some time.
Many thanks to the publish for my copy in exchange for an honest review.
Blog | Instagram
July 31, 2021
The memoirs I appreciate the most are those that open my eyes to a different culture or a lifestyle I will never experience. In 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐍𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐝, Shugri Said Salh writes of her early nomadic life in the desert of Somalia.
She and her siblings were forced to flee their homeland as refugees due to the dangers of civil war. Her journey was once again nomadic in nature, traversing through many countries, at times homeless, but ultimately she would marry, start a family and graduate nursing school with honors.
Shugri Said Salh writes with poetic beauty, but it is raw and honest. She tells of the trauma she faced as a child - the rite of passage in female circumcision that she endured, the misogynistic standards her society upheld, and the fear of war. While I did enjoy the descriptions of goat herding and life out in the desert, her resilience and determination are what I admired the most. The world comes together by understanding each other’s stories, and 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐍𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐝 is just that story.
Thank you to @algonquinbooks and @shugrisalh for an invitation to this tour and a gifted copy.
She and her siblings were forced to flee their homeland as refugees due to the dangers of civil war. Her journey was once again nomadic in nature, traversing through many countries, at times homeless, but ultimately she would marry, start a family and graduate nursing school with honors.
Shugri Said Salh writes with poetic beauty, but it is raw and honest. She tells of the trauma she faced as a child - the rite of passage in female circumcision that she endured, the misogynistic standards her society upheld, and the fear of war. While I did enjoy the descriptions of goat herding and life out in the desert, her resilience and determination are what I admired the most. The world comes together by understanding each other’s stories, and 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐍𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐝 is just that story.
Thank you to @algonquinbooks and @shugrisalh for an invitation to this tour and a gifted copy.
July 25, 2021
"Stories have always created understanding and connection between humans. In this great era of misunderstanding, I wish to help rein us back to our shared humanity."
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The story of Shugri's life opened a new door for me, one that helped me to understand the life of women in Somalia. Born to a nomadic tribe, she describes the beauty and brutality of a life spent simply trying to survive on what the earth provides. The stories of her clan and the fierceness of her ayeeyo (grandmother) herding goats and camels to protect them from lions and hyenas were immersive. I loved understanding the importance of ancestry in the oral history of the nomadic people. Shugri's circumstances were quite different to the other girls of her tribe because her father valued education. She is pulled from her life in the wild and forced into boarding school and goes from learning essential skills in one world to a completely different set of skills for a different life.
There are lots of heavy stories related to the view of females as property and sexual violence which are hard to read. Shugri describes in detail the experience of her female circumcision, known to us in the western world as genital mutilation. We learn the value of a woman is completely based on her intact virginity, her ability to provide male children and take care of the home.
I loved gaining an understanding of how religion and culture balanced with the need for the day to day survival in modern Somalia. Shugri describes the impact of disease, injury and warfare on the average citizen. She describes the attempts at bringing women to equality and how religious conservatives fought deeply against that transition. How warfare brought clan against clan without regard to the actual people within those clans. The trauma of the people forced to leave under these conditions and flee their homes as refugees.
The proverbs at the beginning of each chapter were my favorite part, they gave such insight into the Somali mind.The Last Nomad is a powerful story of female survival and what it means to equally love and feel the need to overcome your culture.
Thanks to Algonquin Books for a copy of this novel. All opinions above are my own.
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The story of Shugri's life opened a new door for me, one that helped me to understand the life of women in Somalia. Born to a nomadic tribe, she describes the beauty and brutality of a life spent simply trying to survive on what the earth provides. The stories of her clan and the fierceness of her ayeeyo (grandmother) herding goats and camels to protect them from lions and hyenas were immersive. I loved understanding the importance of ancestry in the oral history of the nomadic people. Shugri's circumstances were quite different to the other girls of her tribe because her father valued education. She is pulled from her life in the wild and forced into boarding school and goes from learning essential skills in one world to a completely different set of skills for a different life.
There are lots of heavy stories related to the view of females as property and sexual violence which are hard to read. Shugri describes in detail the experience of her female circumcision, known to us in the western world as genital mutilation. We learn the value of a woman is completely based on her intact virginity, her ability to provide male children and take care of the home.
I loved gaining an understanding of how religion and culture balanced with the need for the day to day survival in modern Somalia. Shugri describes the impact of disease, injury and warfare on the average citizen. She describes the attempts at bringing women to equality and how religious conservatives fought deeply against that transition. How warfare brought clan against clan without regard to the actual people within those clans. The trauma of the people forced to leave under these conditions and flee their homes as refugees.
The proverbs at the beginning of each chapter were my favorite part, they gave such insight into the Somali mind.The Last Nomad is a powerful story of female survival and what it means to equally love and feel the need to overcome your culture.
Thanks to Algonquin Books for a copy of this novel. All opinions above are my own.
August 5, 2021
4.5 stars!
"In nomadic society, women carried the burden of keeping the family and clan honor. The division of labor between men and women was crystal clear and unchanging: men hunted, herded camels, and went to war, while women performed all the essential domestic chores."
It is sometimes spine-chilling how societies across the world have this in common. To slot a woman into a box and then tell her that it is for her own good, when in fact, it's nothing but patriarchy. "I love you, but only if you conform to these rules that we have laid" is a common thing globally. Yes, even in the so-called 'modern' societies.
So when I got the chance to read Somalian author Shugri Said Salh's memoir, The Last Nomad, I was instantly intrigued. How similar or different are our cultures? How are men and women treated? How? What? Why?
In The Last Nomad, Shugri Said Salh (SSS) details her life as a nomad in Somalia, her relationship with the desert, where she lived a nomadic life with her ayeeyo (grandmother), her equation with her parents and siblings and with the people around her, how she saw the world and how the world saw her, the rules that the nomadic society lives by, her move to a city and how she dealt with city life, how her life turned out under a dictatorial father who advocated equality in education across genders, her watching the nomadic clans warring around her, her life in a politically turbulent country, and her eventual flight from it as civil war erupted, is detailed in here in a way that will pull you in and transport you into a world that you probably didn't hear of because of other political events (a la America bombing Iraq) happening during the same time.
SSS doesn't sugarcoat anything. Everything is told with utter honesty and sometimes, the rawness can hurt and horrify in equal measure. The traditions she speaks of, the bloodbath that occurred as Somali killed Somali in the civil war, the extremely orthodox treatment of women - there's so much that will anger us. But how can we say anything? We just need to absorb. We need to learn. We need to understand. The onus isn't on SSS to educate anyone, but she does anyway. She tells us, in no uncertain terms, that everyone has struggles and horrors of their own. And she gave me a wide open glimpse into her life, one that is way different than what I know.
I understand. I appreciate. I admire. The strength, the honesty, the joy of one's culture, the pain of unfair tradition, the loving of one's culture while accepting its faults, because no matter what, it will forever remain a part of who you are.
Kudos, Shugri Said Salh!
"In nomadic society, women carried the burden of keeping the family and clan honor. The division of labor between men and women was crystal clear and unchanging: men hunted, herded camels, and went to war, while women performed all the essential domestic chores."
It is sometimes spine-chilling how societies across the world have this in common. To slot a woman into a box and then tell her that it is for her own good, when in fact, it's nothing but patriarchy. "I love you, but only if you conform to these rules that we have laid" is a common thing globally. Yes, even in the so-called 'modern' societies.
So when I got the chance to read Somalian author Shugri Said Salh's memoir, The Last Nomad, I was instantly intrigued. How similar or different are our cultures? How are men and women treated? How? What? Why?
In The Last Nomad, Shugri Said Salh (SSS) details her life as a nomad in Somalia, her relationship with the desert, where she lived a nomadic life with her ayeeyo (grandmother), her equation with her parents and siblings and with the people around her, how she saw the world and how the world saw her, the rules that the nomadic society lives by, her move to a city and how she dealt with city life, how her life turned out under a dictatorial father who advocated equality in education across genders, her watching the nomadic clans warring around her, her life in a politically turbulent country, and her eventual flight from it as civil war erupted, is detailed in here in a way that will pull you in and transport you into a world that you probably didn't hear of because of other political events (a la America bombing Iraq) happening during the same time.
SSS doesn't sugarcoat anything. Everything is told with utter honesty and sometimes, the rawness can hurt and horrify in equal measure. The traditions she speaks of, the bloodbath that occurred as Somali killed Somali in the civil war, the extremely orthodox treatment of women - there's so much that will anger us. But how can we say anything? We just need to absorb. We need to learn. We need to understand. The onus isn't on SSS to educate anyone, but she does anyway. She tells us, in no uncertain terms, that everyone has struggles and horrors of their own. And she gave me a wide open glimpse into her life, one that is way different than what I know.
I understand. I appreciate. I admire. The strength, the honesty, the joy of one's culture, the pain of unfair tradition, the loving of one's culture while accepting its faults, because no matter what, it will forever remain a part of who you are.
Kudos, Shugri Said Salh!
May 20, 2021
Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy. It took me a long time, but I’m glad that I finally finished reading this memoir. The anecdotes are memorable and well-written. I think a map, timeline, and family tree would have helped me comprehend a little better. I didn’t follow along with the politics, but I still enjoyed the narrative. I appreciate the author’s point of view that one can be proud of the past, culture, and heritage while at the same time leave out the parts that don’t serve you personally. I learned a lot about Somalia, it’s culture, and the nomadic traditions. I felt the author balances positive and negative views of culture with using perceptions from the people in context. While there are some graphic descriptions of female mutilation and violence, educators could still use portions of the memoir for cultural or social studies without needing to use the book in its entirety.
August 21, 2021
This book. WOW! So spellbinding and humbling.
I just finished reading (and alternating listening along in the car thanks to LibroFM - the narrator, Waceke Wambaa, is absolutely fantastic!), and I’m having a hard time gathering my thoughts to do this one justice. I feel so honored to be able to immerse myself in Shugri’s journey, and understand what life was like for her in Somalia as a nomad and, later, on her path from the desert to an orphanage, a refugee camp, and eventually to the USA. Thank you so much for gifting us with the beauty and honesty of the story of your life, Shugri. Everyone should go get themselves a copy of this engrossing debut!
Thanks to Algonquin Books and LibroFM for the advanced copies in exchange for my honest review.
I just finished reading (and alternating listening along in the car thanks to LibroFM - the narrator, Waceke Wambaa, is absolutely fantastic!), and I’m having a hard time gathering my thoughts to do this one justice. I feel so honored to be able to immerse myself in Shugri’s journey, and understand what life was like for her in Somalia as a nomad and, later, on her path from the desert to an orphanage, a refugee camp, and eventually to the USA. Thank you so much for gifting us with the beauty and honesty of the story of your life, Shugri. Everyone should go get themselves a copy of this engrossing debut!
Thanks to Algonquin Books and LibroFM for the advanced copies in exchange for my honest review.
January 4, 2022
A stunning memoir!
March 10, 2022
This book is intense! I was shook from the vivid descriptions on fear, female circumcising, war, and hardships. But I’m so glad I powered through the discomfort to learn about this Somali woman’s struggles. It is a blessing to know her story and I thank her for sharing it.
July 2, 2024
I was so excited when I came across this arc in one of my neighborhood's Free Little Libraries. For my reading the world project I wanted this one to be my Somalia book, what a great coincidence. With all that I am even sadder that the book itself was underwhelming for me. It's the kind of book that will work differently for different readers. If you read memoirs mostly for the WHAT this might still be a wonderful book for you, I however care a lot about the HOW in my memoirs, and "The Last Nomad" was not the best in that regard.
First rant I need to get out is about advertising books as something (slightly) different than what they truly are to basically make more sales which I kind of accuse this book of. And it's not just the marketing: the author foreword, cover design, down to the conclusive paragraph tell you this memoir is centered around growing up as a nomad. And yes, she does spend some time living with her nomadic grandma but in comparison to the years and events covered in the book it is not that much. She could have decided to focus on that more but she goes in linear fashion through her growing years covering times in different Somalian cities, the outbreak of war and her escape, time spent in exile in Kenya, emigrating and settling into Canada and even some snippets of her current life in California. A fascinating life, so why advertise it as something it is not? A book about growing up in Somalia in itself should still gather enough of an audience but I feel duped because I really wanted to deep dive into the nomadic experience but I couldn't. I might be a little more angry at this since that happened with a few books over the last year and maybe I'll take it out on this one but I don't think my anger on this issue in general is wrong. I mean, they shouldn't be surprised to get negative reviews when they are not delivering what they promise, right or right?
But let's move on from my rant on book publishing and authors thinking they are writing a different book than they are. In general I sadly thought the writing is fairly weak. A rather straight forward style (which could be due to the fact that English is not the author's first language?) but also a memoir that refuses to go into the emotional depths, the ugly, the interesting, the layered. A good memoir lives off of reflections and connections created by the author not just on describing someone's life. Most people have a life story, this is for sure one of the more interesting ones, but nothing compelling is being done with it. We go from event A to event B, in sometimes rather clunky transitions and everything stays surface level. One example: she describes her circumcision. A horrifying act and it was so fascinating to hear that she as a young girl was looking forward to this since it is a rite of passage in the culture she grew up in. But after those descriptions we never revisit this until the very end of the book where in only 2 short paragraphs her then husband convinces her to get surgery to help with her pain. I wanted to much more from that: did she ever feel resentment to her beloved grandma for this, maybe conflicting emotions; did she ever suffer infections, what was it like to change her mind set on this violent act? We just never go there and I could say this for so many aspects of this book: we just never go there. Another example: once she fled to Canada her sister beats her violently in the name of family honor, later after she fled from that situation she ends up getting married in her sister's basement and presents it to the reader as one of those quirky twists of life instead of giving us some depth and emotion. I mean, did she ever talk to her sister, or was it awkward to never mention this again? So many missed opportunities for emotional reflections and I for one love memoirs for that reason, I want writers to go there.
Another thing was how she often left things out, like not going much into Somalia's political situation, or mentioning people who die only in that one paragraph, or forgetting about people like her father. She had a tumultuous, complicated relationship with him, he drops in and out of her life and suddenly he doesn't get mentioned anymore: I mean did he die or also leave the country? Who knows.
Some of these things might not bother other readers, as I said earlier, the WHAT in here is worth a read, she had quite the life but the deliverance was very cookie cutter. And the saddest thing is I know there was more potential. In chapter 3 she focuses on her mother who died when she was still young and she webs it nicely into a reflection from her as an adult, trying to decipher some aspects and her own feelings. That was beautiful but it was one chapter in an otherwise streamlined book that avoids going into the deeper and more powerful layers her life story offers. I want to make clear that by no means do I judge her life but I would say maybe with a co-author this could have been better and been a riveting experience, instead it was just alright.
First rant I need to get out is about advertising books as something (slightly) different than what they truly are to basically make more sales which I kind of accuse this book of. And it's not just the marketing: the author foreword, cover design, down to the conclusive paragraph tell you this memoir is centered around growing up as a nomad. And yes, she does spend some time living with her nomadic grandma but in comparison to the years and events covered in the book it is not that much. She could have decided to focus on that more but she goes in linear fashion through her growing years covering times in different Somalian cities, the outbreak of war and her escape, time spent in exile in Kenya, emigrating and settling into Canada and even some snippets of her current life in California. A fascinating life, so why advertise it as something it is not? A book about growing up in Somalia in itself should still gather enough of an audience but I feel duped because I really wanted to deep dive into the nomadic experience but I couldn't. I might be a little more angry at this since that happened with a few books over the last year and maybe I'll take it out on this one but I don't think my anger on this issue in general is wrong. I mean, they shouldn't be surprised to get negative reviews when they are not delivering what they promise, right or right?
But let's move on from my rant on book publishing and authors thinking they are writing a different book than they are. In general I sadly thought the writing is fairly weak. A rather straight forward style (which could be due to the fact that English is not the author's first language?) but also a memoir that refuses to go into the emotional depths, the ugly, the interesting, the layered. A good memoir lives off of reflections and connections created by the author not just on describing someone's life. Most people have a life story, this is for sure one of the more interesting ones, but nothing compelling is being done with it. We go from event A to event B, in sometimes rather clunky transitions and everything stays surface level. One example: she describes her circumcision. A horrifying act and it was so fascinating to hear that she as a young girl was looking forward to this since it is a rite of passage in the culture she grew up in. But after those descriptions we never revisit this until the very end of the book where in only 2 short paragraphs her then husband convinces her to get surgery to help with her pain. I wanted to much more from that: did she ever feel resentment to her beloved grandma for this, maybe conflicting emotions; did she ever suffer infections, what was it like to change her mind set on this violent act? We just never go there and I could say this for so many aspects of this book: we just never go there. Another example: once she fled to Canada her sister beats her violently in the name of family honor, later after she fled from that situation she ends up getting married in her sister's basement and presents it to the reader as one of those quirky twists of life instead of giving us some depth and emotion. I mean, did she ever talk to her sister, or was it awkward to never mention this again? So many missed opportunities for emotional reflections and I for one love memoirs for that reason, I want writers to go there.
Another thing was how she often left things out, like not going much into Somalia's political situation, or mentioning people who die only in that one paragraph, or forgetting about people like her father. She had a tumultuous, complicated relationship with him, he drops in and out of her life and suddenly he doesn't get mentioned anymore: I mean did he die or also leave the country? Who knows.
Some of these things might not bother other readers, as I said earlier, the WHAT in here is worth a read, she had quite the life but the deliverance was very cookie cutter. And the saddest thing is I know there was more potential. In chapter 3 she focuses on her mother who died when she was still young and she webs it nicely into a reflection from her as an adult, trying to decipher some aspects and her own feelings. That was beautiful but it was one chapter in an otherwise streamlined book that avoids going into the deeper and more powerful layers her life story offers. I want to make clear that by no means do I judge her life but I would say maybe with a co-author this could have been better and been a riveting experience, instead it was just alright.
August 4, 2021
The Last Nomad: Coming of Age in the Somali Desert is an enlightening memoir about Shugri’s nomadic life and is told in a style that replicates the Somali way of oral storytelling. It is fascinating and opens up a door into a lifestyle and culture that isn’t often featured in our mainstream literature.
This book shows the stunning resilience of the nomadic women and is also part startling revelation of the life that Shugri and the women around her experienced. There’s many tense or heavy moments but they are crucial to the story at large. There’s a reckoning here of the life that Shugri’s known and the values she has been taught in comparison with her budding feminist ideals. Though there’s some pretty tough storylines in here (made all the more horrifying by the fact that they’re from someone’s actual life), there’s also amazing hope and strength in this novel. The fact that Shugri’s even here writing this story is a testament to the person that she is.
Although I was fascinated by the author’s life, I might not be in the right headspace for a novel such as this one right now. The jarring storytelling style didn’t fully pull me in as much as I would have liked. That isn’t to say that it’s not a gorgeous book; it very much is. I think this will rank highly for many people and I think I will appreciate it even more on a reread at a time I’m able to enjoy reading about heavier subjects! It is always hard to rank memoirs because who am I to put a value on a person’s life story. Shugri’s life is full of so many trials and triumphs that it is truly an amazing tale. Full disclosure, something about my pregnancy brain at the moment is making reading tough tales hard –when I usually devour stuff like this!
Thanks to Algonquin books for the review copy and for inviting me on this book tour!
This book shows the stunning resilience of the nomadic women and is also part startling revelation of the life that Shugri and the women around her experienced. There’s many tense or heavy moments but they are crucial to the story at large. There’s a reckoning here of the life that Shugri’s known and the values she has been taught in comparison with her budding feminist ideals. Though there’s some pretty tough storylines in here (made all the more horrifying by the fact that they’re from someone’s actual life), there’s also amazing hope and strength in this novel. The fact that Shugri’s even here writing this story is a testament to the person that she is.
Although I was fascinated by the author’s life, I might not be in the right headspace for a novel such as this one right now. The jarring storytelling style didn’t fully pull me in as much as I would have liked. That isn’t to say that it’s not a gorgeous book; it very much is. I think this will rank highly for many people and I think I will appreciate it even more on a reread at a time I’m able to enjoy reading about heavier subjects! It is always hard to rank memoirs because who am I to put a value on a person’s life story. Shugri’s life is full of so many trials and triumphs that it is truly an amazing tale. Full disclosure, something about my pregnancy brain at the moment is making reading tough tales hard –when I usually devour stuff like this!
Thanks to Algonquin books for the review copy and for inviting me on this book tour!
November 23, 2021
This was a fascinating look at life in Somalia. The author lived part of her childhood (ages 5-9 or so) in the Somalia desert as a nomad with her grandmother, when she was "gifted" to her grandmother by her mother. She lived the rest of her childhood in various cities, including Mogadishu, in an orphanage, with a sister and with her father.
The author lived an often very brutal life. There was a lot of physical abuse by her father, both when she was a small child and then the second time she lived with him as an older child, from other students in the orphanage, and then later yet by the sister she lived with in Canada.
She was also subjected to female circumcision, a "normal" part of life in Somalia. This is done without anesthesia of any type and various degrees of the genitals are removed, depending on who performs the act. Her descriptions of this process are not for the faint of heart.
The author is very candid about her life and discusses both the negatives of life in Somalia and the positives. She revered her grandmother and her mother and their strength and dignity informed a lot of who she became as she grew up.
Her tone is largely matter-of-fact: this happened, this happened etc but she is careful to address why things happened - much of it tied to the culture of Somalian life. She doesn't excuse it, just explains why people acted as they did. She refused to be a victim at any point in her life and eventually had the courage to fashion a new life for herself largely against societal norms.
I liked this book - she was a good narrator and told a story about a culture few people have experienced for themselves.
The author lived an often very brutal life. There was a lot of physical abuse by her father, both when she was a small child and then the second time she lived with him as an older child, from other students in the orphanage, and then later yet by the sister she lived with in Canada.
She was also subjected to female circumcision, a "normal" part of life in Somalia. This is done without anesthesia of any type and various degrees of the genitals are removed, depending on who performs the act. Her descriptions of this process are not for the faint of heart.
The author is very candid about her life and discusses both the negatives of life in Somalia and the positives. She revered her grandmother and her mother and their strength and dignity informed a lot of who she became as she grew up.
Her tone is largely matter-of-fact: this happened, this happened etc but she is careful to address why things happened - much of it tied to the culture of Somalian life. She doesn't excuse it, just explains why people acted as they did. She refused to be a victim at any point in her life and eventually had the courage to fashion a new life for herself largely against societal norms.
I liked this book - she was a good narrator and told a story about a culture few people have experienced for themselves.
August 3, 2021
“Like an archeologist desperately excavating a forgotten world, I want to bring the details of my nomadic upbringing to life before it is lost forever. I don’t want the library of my past to die with me. The resilience I learned from surviving life in the desert carried me through the unexpected death of my young mother, being chased from my country by civil war, and defying my clan’s expectations after I dared to fall in love with a man from the “wrong” country.”
The memoir of Shugri Said Salh is remarkable. She has survived the nomadic life in the desert. She has run from civil war in her home country. She lived life as a refugee in Kenya. She has gained her freedom and independence by escaping to Canada. She is finally living a life of purpose, and hoping to leave a legacy of stories behind her to give to her children and her children’s children. She does not want her story to die with her. She wants her life and her culture to be remembered.
“Somalia is known as the nation of poets, and creating poems is considered a sign of intelligence in our culture,” Shugri writes. “…poetry is a major form of communication among the nomads.”
I was deeply enthralled by Shugri’s memoir and all that she faced as a young girl, leading up to her coming of age in the Somali culture. The nomadic lifestyle she endured during her childhood helped to shape and mold the very person she is today. Shugri details how living in a nomadic community built her, and how her resilience and independence came from watching her mighty ayeeyo (grandmother) and her commanding presence, which set the tone for her life.
Shugri Said Salh, details life in Somalia, educating her readers about the culture and life as a daughter, in the Muslim faith. She discusses the burdens that are placed on young women in the Somali culture and how she navigated life in this very patriarchal/patrilineal society. We learn about how she developed a strong sense of self and self-reliance from her beloved grandmother. How she fought to not lose herself when troubles came her way. How she learned and navigated in foreign countries. How she continued to evoke the spirit of her nomadic grandmother whenever she came across trials she felt was unavoidable or harsh. I loved Shugri’s spirit of being able to figure things out and how she learned to move on and not dwell when things don’t go your way, but to use those shortcomings and deficiencies into something worthwhile and meaningful. Shugri has a powerful voice and story to share with the world, and her children should be proud to know that their mother is a strong and fearless elder.
Salh recounts tales from her youth, even depicting the graphic FGM (female genital mutilation) that her culture embraced for young girls coming of age. She talks about how social standing for men is the highest form or only form of currency in their culture. How women are treated as inept in keeping their own virginity sacred. She discusses how extremism in her religion is destroying her country’s culture.
There were several themes and topics I gathered from reading her memoir:
- Feminism
- Gender roles
- Survival
- Gratitude
- Life cycle
- Fearlessness
- Bravery
- Courage
- Heroic women
- Head of household
- Death/grief
- Nomadic lifestyle
- Patriarchial/patrilineal society
- Rape culture
- Self-sufficiency/independence
- Tradition/culture
- Religion vs extremism
Being a woman in the Somali culture, from Salh’s perspective sounds harsh and unfair. Women basically are responsible for everything. By the age of 16, young women are expected to know how to run a household efficiently. How women are only valued if she is obedient or subservient. How women had to be the burden carriers of their families honor. However, this culture shaped and molded Salh into an indomitable person, who strives towards honor and respect in every aspect of her life. I am in awe of her story, and I’m very thankful that others are able to read and learn about her life growing up in Somalia. Her rich detailed history allowed me to gain curiosity in this North African culture. I was curious about the civil war in Somalia in the 1990s, and how the country is doing right now. I was enthralled by the many anecdotes she told about how she matriculated into North America.
I wanted to learn more about her grandmother’s life, and how she survived 90 years in the desert, searching and living day to day. I was saddened to learn about her mother’s death at a young age. I was curious to learn about how she found herself in an orphanage with some of her siblings. Salh’s storytelling abilities was very much appreciated, and I’m sure her mother and grandmother would be proud to hear her sharing her life and ensuring that their legacy doesn’t die out without it being recorded.
“When an elder dies, a library is burned.” - an Old African Proverb
“Keeping our stories alive provides us with a living history lesson.”
Thank you so much for sharing your story with the world Shugri Said Salh. Your voice is needed! Thank you to Algonquin Books, Libro.FM, and the author, Shugri Said Salh for providing this book in exchange for a fair and honest opinion. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
The memoir of Shugri Said Salh is remarkable. She has survived the nomadic life in the desert. She has run from civil war in her home country. She lived life as a refugee in Kenya. She has gained her freedom and independence by escaping to Canada. She is finally living a life of purpose, and hoping to leave a legacy of stories behind her to give to her children and her children’s children. She does not want her story to die with her. She wants her life and her culture to be remembered.
“Somalia is known as the nation of poets, and creating poems is considered a sign of intelligence in our culture,” Shugri writes. “…poetry is a major form of communication among the nomads.”
I was deeply enthralled by Shugri’s memoir and all that she faced as a young girl, leading up to her coming of age in the Somali culture. The nomadic lifestyle she endured during her childhood helped to shape and mold the very person she is today. Shugri details how living in a nomadic community built her, and how her resilience and independence came from watching her mighty ayeeyo (grandmother) and her commanding presence, which set the tone for her life.
Shugri Said Salh, details life in Somalia, educating her readers about the culture and life as a daughter, in the Muslim faith. She discusses the burdens that are placed on young women in the Somali culture and how she navigated life in this very patriarchal/patrilineal society. We learn about how she developed a strong sense of self and self-reliance from her beloved grandmother. How she fought to not lose herself when troubles came her way. How she learned and navigated in foreign countries. How she continued to evoke the spirit of her nomadic grandmother whenever she came across trials she felt was unavoidable or harsh. I loved Shugri’s spirit of being able to figure things out and how she learned to move on and not dwell when things don’t go your way, but to use those shortcomings and deficiencies into something worthwhile and meaningful. Shugri has a powerful voice and story to share with the world, and her children should be proud to know that their mother is a strong and fearless elder.
Salh recounts tales from her youth, even depicting the graphic FGM (female genital mutilation) that her culture embraced for young girls coming of age. She talks about how social standing for men is the highest form or only form of currency in their culture. How women are treated as inept in keeping their own virginity sacred. She discusses how extremism in her religion is destroying her country’s culture.
There were several themes and topics I gathered from reading her memoir:
- Feminism
- Gender roles
- Survival
- Gratitude
- Life cycle
- Fearlessness
- Bravery
- Courage
- Heroic women
- Head of household
- Death/grief
- Nomadic lifestyle
- Patriarchial/patrilineal society
- Rape culture
- Self-sufficiency/independence
- Tradition/culture
- Religion vs extremism
Being a woman in the Somali culture, from Salh’s perspective sounds harsh and unfair. Women basically are responsible for everything. By the age of 16, young women are expected to know how to run a household efficiently. How women are only valued if she is obedient or subservient. How women had to be the burden carriers of their families honor. However, this culture shaped and molded Salh into an indomitable person, who strives towards honor and respect in every aspect of her life. I am in awe of her story, and I’m very thankful that others are able to read and learn about her life growing up in Somalia. Her rich detailed history allowed me to gain curiosity in this North African culture. I was curious about the civil war in Somalia in the 1990s, and how the country is doing right now. I was enthralled by the many anecdotes she told about how she matriculated into North America.
I wanted to learn more about her grandmother’s life, and how she survived 90 years in the desert, searching and living day to day. I was saddened to learn about her mother’s death at a young age. I was curious to learn about how she found herself in an orphanage with some of her siblings. Salh’s storytelling abilities was very much appreciated, and I’m sure her mother and grandmother would be proud to hear her sharing her life and ensuring that their legacy doesn’t die out without it being recorded.
“When an elder dies, a library is burned.” - an Old African Proverb
“Keeping our stories alive provides us with a living history lesson.”
Thank you so much for sharing your story with the world Shugri Said Salh. Your voice is needed! Thank you to Algonquin Books, Libro.FM, and the author, Shugri Said Salh for providing this book in exchange for a fair and honest opinion. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
November 24, 2022
Ci sono persone che sanno trasmettere storie come in pochi sanno fare.
Ma ci sono nazioni, come la Somalia, che del 'raccontare' ne hanno fatto la propria cultura.
La Somalia è un paese dove la alfabetizzazione è tra le più basse al mondo, ma con la sua poesia e la tradizione orale, questa nazione ha unito il variopinto mosaico delle popolazioni.
La poesia, e le storie tramandate a voce di generazione in generazione ne hanno fatto della Somalia, il paese dei poeti.
Da questa eredità genetica, Shugri Said Salh, ci inoltra nelle terre più selvagge di questo paese, per immergerci nella realtà e nella quotidianità vissuta da lei e dalla sua numerosissima famiglia, con una prosa diretta e lirica, che vi terrà incollati alle pagine.
Quando Shugri Said Salh aveva sei anni, fu mandata a vivere con la nonna nomade nel deserto.
Shugri sarebbe diventata l'ultima della sua famiglia a vivere nel deserto.
È un libro meraviglioso che amato immensamente dalla prima all'ultima pagina, ma i capitoli dove Shugri narra la sua vita da bambina mi hanno letteralmente rubato il cuore.
In queste pagine ci dipinge un meraviglioso quadro della Somalia, della sua bellezza feroce, con i suoi superbi paesaggi, le sue terre selvatiche. Un paese da un fascino folgorante ma al contempo intriso di pericoli, con gli animali feroci, le iene, i leoni, i coccodrilli....
Nella cruda realtà della sopravvivenza del deserto, Shugri ha imparato le cose più importanti della sua vita.
La madre, tra i dieci figli avuti, scelse Shugri come aiutante della nonna nomade che viveva nel deserto.
Shugri lascia la sua casa, i suoi genitori e le numerose mogli del padre, i numerosi fratelli e va a vivere nel deserto diventando l'ultima nomade della sua famiglia.
Shugri impara presto ad allevare capre e inseguire facoceri, arrampicarsi sulle colline e spostarsi costantemente alla ricerca di acqua e pascoli, ma i momenti più belli della giornata sono quelli che trascorre attorno al falò, con la nonna, una donna di una saggezza selvaggia ma intensa.
Ci sono pagine all'interno di queste memoir, che sono difficili da leggere, per la loro crudezza, mi riferisco purtroppo quelle in cui si parla della pratica diffusa in Somalia: la mutilazione genitale femminile ( MGF)
Ho faticato tanto a leggere certi passaggi, in alcuni punti i miei occhi non hanno retto alle lacrime. Ho provato solo lontanamente ad immaginare la brutalità di questo rito tribale somalo. Una pratica crudele e arcaica afflitta praticamente a tutte le bambine di questa popolazione, bambine anche di quattro e cinque anni.
•
Shugri Said Salh aveva solo sette anni, ma la ha affrontata dignitosamente la sua come prevede il retaggio forte della sua stirpe nomade.
•
Una terra dove le donne sono delle vere guerriere fin dal primo momento che vedono la luce.
•
In questa sua autobiografia Shugri Said Salh racconta: il passaggio dalla fanciullezza alla vita adulta, la sua vita da nomade assieme alla sua ayeeyo(nonna), il suo periodo scolastico presso l'orfanatrofio di Mogadiscio - dopo la morte prematura della madre -, la costante ricerca dell'indipendenza, il passaggio e la fuga dalla guerra civile fino all'arrivo in Canada con le sue difficoltà e infine ci parlerà della sua nuova vita in California, assieme a suo marito e le sue tre figlie.
•
𝐿'𝑢𝑙𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑎 𝑛𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑑𝑒 è un romanzo di formazione e una testimonianza indimenticabile che proviene dal cuore pulsante dell'Africa e che ha come protagonista una donna forte e intrepida che ha affrontato il mondo senza mai un attimo di paura.
Con la sua audacia ha affrontato la vita con un eroismo e una determinazione che dev'essere d'esempio a tutti i giovani di adesso.
•
Credetemi questo libro è assolutamente da leggere.
•
Non vi pentirete di questo consiglio di lettura, edito da una casa editrice tutta da scoprire.
È il secondo libro che leggo di #mardeisargassiedizioni e sono stati uno più bello dell'altro. 👍🏻
•
𝐿'𝑢𝑙𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑎 𝑛𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑑𝑒 è una lettura che è anche perfetta per il mio progetto di #libribelliedannati.
Ma ci sono nazioni, come la Somalia, che del 'raccontare' ne hanno fatto la propria cultura.
La Somalia è un paese dove la alfabetizzazione è tra le più basse al mondo, ma con la sua poesia e la tradizione orale, questa nazione ha unito il variopinto mosaico delle popolazioni.
La poesia, e le storie tramandate a voce di generazione in generazione ne hanno fatto della Somalia, il paese dei poeti.
Da questa eredità genetica, Shugri Said Salh, ci inoltra nelle terre più selvagge di questo paese, per immergerci nella realtà e nella quotidianità vissuta da lei e dalla sua numerosissima famiglia, con una prosa diretta e lirica, che vi terrà incollati alle pagine.
Quando Shugri Said Salh aveva sei anni, fu mandata a vivere con la nonna nomade nel deserto.
Shugri sarebbe diventata l'ultima della sua famiglia a vivere nel deserto.
È un libro meraviglioso che amato immensamente dalla prima all'ultima pagina, ma i capitoli dove Shugri narra la sua vita da bambina mi hanno letteralmente rubato il cuore.
In queste pagine ci dipinge un meraviglioso quadro della Somalia, della sua bellezza feroce, con i suoi superbi paesaggi, le sue terre selvatiche. Un paese da un fascino folgorante ma al contempo intriso di pericoli, con gli animali feroci, le iene, i leoni, i coccodrilli....
Nella cruda realtà della sopravvivenza del deserto, Shugri ha imparato le cose più importanti della sua vita.
La madre, tra i dieci figli avuti, scelse Shugri come aiutante della nonna nomade che viveva nel deserto.
Shugri lascia la sua casa, i suoi genitori e le numerose mogli del padre, i numerosi fratelli e va a vivere nel deserto diventando l'ultima nomade della sua famiglia.
Shugri impara presto ad allevare capre e inseguire facoceri, arrampicarsi sulle colline e spostarsi costantemente alla ricerca di acqua e pascoli, ma i momenti più belli della giornata sono quelli che trascorre attorno al falò, con la nonna, una donna di una saggezza selvaggia ma intensa.
Ci sono pagine all'interno di queste memoir, che sono difficili da leggere, per la loro crudezza, mi riferisco purtroppo quelle in cui si parla della pratica diffusa in Somalia: la mutilazione genitale femminile ( MGF)
Ho faticato tanto a leggere certi passaggi, in alcuni punti i miei occhi non hanno retto alle lacrime. Ho provato solo lontanamente ad immaginare la brutalità di questo rito tribale somalo. Una pratica crudele e arcaica afflitta praticamente a tutte le bambine di questa popolazione, bambine anche di quattro e cinque anni.
•
Shugri Said Salh aveva solo sette anni, ma la ha affrontata dignitosamente la sua come prevede il retaggio forte della sua stirpe nomade.
•
Una terra dove le donne sono delle vere guerriere fin dal primo momento che vedono la luce.
•
In questa sua autobiografia Shugri Said Salh racconta: il passaggio dalla fanciullezza alla vita adulta, la sua vita da nomade assieme alla sua ayeeyo(nonna), il suo periodo scolastico presso l'orfanatrofio di Mogadiscio - dopo la morte prematura della madre -, la costante ricerca dell'indipendenza, il passaggio e la fuga dalla guerra civile fino all'arrivo in Canada con le sue difficoltà e infine ci parlerà della sua nuova vita in California, assieme a suo marito e le sue tre figlie.
•
𝐿'𝑢𝑙𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑎 𝑛𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑑𝑒 è un romanzo di formazione e una testimonianza indimenticabile che proviene dal cuore pulsante dell'Africa e che ha come protagonista una donna forte e intrepida che ha affrontato il mondo senza mai un attimo di paura.
Con la sua audacia ha affrontato la vita con un eroismo e una determinazione che dev'essere d'esempio a tutti i giovani di adesso.
•
Credetemi questo libro è assolutamente da leggere.
•
Non vi pentirete di questo consiglio di lettura, edito da una casa editrice tutta da scoprire.
È il secondo libro che leggo di #mardeisargassiedizioni e sono stati uno più bello dell'altro. 👍🏻
•
𝐿'𝑢𝑙𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑎 𝑛𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑑𝑒 è una lettura che è anche perfetta per il mio progetto di #libribelliedannati.
May 10, 2024
Shugri Said Salh masterfully shares her life story through her Somali talent and cultural appreciation for poems and storytelling. What begins as an exciting introduction of nomad life in the Somali dessert becomes an eye-opening recounting of what Somali life and culture was like before, during, and after the Somali Civil War. At the end, one will have run the gamut of emotions from curiosity to empathy, anxiety and fear, tension and relief, and ending on a tender note of how Shrugri met her husband and went on to live a life safe away from the heart wrenching aftereffects of the Somali Civil War.
Each chapter began with a Somali proverb, which I would like to share here for my remembrance and for any interested:
Hooyaday aniga iyo calool adayg bay na dhashay.
Alongside with me, mother gave birth to an indomitable will.
Dad iyo duurba wax walbaa laga fishaa.
Of both man and an unknown forest, anything is to be expected.
Hooyadu was iama huraan.
Only a mother is indispensable.
Wixii xunba Xaawaa leh.
Men still blame Eve for everything.
Waxaanad hurayn horra loo yeelaa.
One must surrender to the inevitable.
Hangaraarac lug uma dhutiyo.
A centipede does not limp for losing a single leg.
Ama buur ahow ama buur ku tiirasanow.
Be a mountain yourself; or lean on something like it.
God hadimo ha qodin, hadaad qodana ha dheerayn-- ku dhici doontaa ma ogide.
Don't ever dig a treacherous hole in the ground; and if you do, do not make it a bottomless pit, for you might just end up in it.
Maroodigu takarta isaga saran ma arkee, takarta kan kale saaran ayuu arkaa.
As each elephant can easily spot the flea on another elephant's back, so some men can only find fault with others but not with themselves.
Allahayow dhib badanaa qof ka tagay dhulkiisii.
Oh lord! How sad is the soul that leaves its native land.
Dani waa seeto.
Necessity is an inescapable knot.
Hadaad tagto meel laga il la' yahay, adna il baa la is tidhaa.
If you happen to find yourself in a strange land where everybody in the country has somehow lost the use of a single eye, then it's likewise prudent to lose one of your eyes.
Each chapter began with a Somali proverb, which I would like to share here for my remembrance and for any interested:
Hooyaday aniga iyo calool adayg bay na dhashay.
Alongside with me, mother gave birth to an indomitable will.
Dad iyo duurba wax walbaa laga fishaa.
Of both man and an unknown forest, anything is to be expected.
Hooyadu was iama huraan.
Only a mother is indispensable.
Wixii xunba Xaawaa leh.
Men still blame Eve for everything.
Waxaanad hurayn horra loo yeelaa.
One must surrender to the inevitable.
Hangaraarac lug uma dhutiyo.
A centipede does not limp for losing a single leg.
Ama buur ahow ama buur ku tiirasanow.
Be a mountain yourself; or lean on something like it.
God hadimo ha qodin, hadaad qodana ha dheerayn-- ku dhici doontaa ma ogide.
Don't ever dig a treacherous hole in the ground; and if you do, do not make it a bottomless pit, for you might just end up in it.
Maroodigu takarta isaga saran ma arkee, takarta kan kale saaran ayuu arkaa.
As each elephant can easily spot the flea on another elephant's back, so some men can only find fault with others but not with themselves.
Allahayow dhib badanaa qof ka tagay dhulkiisii.
Oh lord! How sad is the soul that leaves its native land.
Dani waa seeto.
Necessity is an inescapable knot.
Hadaad tagto meel laga il la' yahay, adna il baa la is tidhaa.
If you happen to find yourself in a strange land where everybody in the country has somehow lost the use of a single eye, then it's likewise prudent to lose one of your eyes.
August 3, 2021
Thanks to @algonquinbooks for the ARC of this beautiful memoir by @shugrisalh!
In The Last Nomad, the author, Shugri Said Salh, talks about how poets are important in Somali culture, and that is apparent in her storytelling. It is vivid and beautiful, without being overly descriptive. Shugri’s story is an amazing one, and one that is hard to imagine as someone who has lived an admittedly privileged life. It was amazing to read how she has lived through so many different situations and lifestyles and pushed forward with such strength and perseverance.
I tend to have a hard time with memoirs because the true stories of people’s lives don’t follow the same structure of the plot in a fictional story. They don’t lead to a climax and then have a satisfying ending but are rather a bunch of stories that work together to explain a person’s life and sometimes their personality. That’s the case in this one. It is a bunch of different stories of the author’s life as a nomad in conjuncture with her life in America. Each chapter almost read like a scrapbook, different stories placed together that all related to the overall topic of the chapter but didn’t always feel like they connected to each other. It is written well and the stories are all very interesting to read about, my only complaint is that that structure threw me off a bit at times. However, the book as a whole was beautiful, and is one I will definitely be recommending to memoir lovers!
Trigger/Content Warnings:
• mentions and brief descriptions of rape.
• mentions of poverty, murder, war.
• chapter 4 speaks in depth and graphically about female genital mutilation. I would recommend skipping the entire chapter if this may be triggering
In The Last Nomad, the author, Shugri Said Salh, talks about how poets are important in Somali culture, and that is apparent in her storytelling. It is vivid and beautiful, without being overly descriptive. Shugri’s story is an amazing one, and one that is hard to imagine as someone who has lived an admittedly privileged life. It was amazing to read how she has lived through so many different situations and lifestyles and pushed forward with such strength and perseverance.
I tend to have a hard time with memoirs because the true stories of people’s lives don’t follow the same structure of the plot in a fictional story. They don’t lead to a climax and then have a satisfying ending but are rather a bunch of stories that work together to explain a person’s life and sometimes their personality. That’s the case in this one. It is a bunch of different stories of the author’s life as a nomad in conjuncture with her life in America. Each chapter almost read like a scrapbook, different stories placed together that all related to the overall topic of the chapter but didn’t always feel like they connected to each other. It is written well and the stories are all very interesting to read about, my only complaint is that that structure threw me off a bit at times. However, the book as a whole was beautiful, and is one I will definitely be recommending to memoir lovers!
Trigger/Content Warnings:
• mentions and brief descriptions of rape.
• mentions of poverty, murder, war.
• chapter 4 speaks in depth and graphically about female genital mutilation. I would recommend skipping the entire chapter if this may be triggering
July 30, 2021
I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book or my review itself.
Shugri Said Salh has spun a powerful true tale of her life growing up in Africa, and her journey that eventually led her to have to flee her homeland.
When Salh was six years old, she was sent as an extra daughter to assist her grandmother. Salh's grandmother was a nomad, among the last to truly live that way of life, before political upheaval and truly threatening practices changed everything Salh had ever known. Salh describes this time of her life, not only that of standing guard over her goats and listening to stories shared at night, but including the difficulties women faced-such as being blamed if a man assaulted them and thus took their virginity in the eyes of the community-and the torturous detail of Salh and her sister going through the rite of female circumcision.
Salh weaves her truth to take readers with her as her father (a frightening and violent figure) makes a series of choices that bring heartache and danger to bear on the family, as they find themselves refugees at an orphange, then fleeing to whatever town they can find that has not been swallowed by war. Salh shows us how she continued to rise from the ashes, to find a fierceness and a light and a strength within herself, and she makes sure to honor all those who gave her hope along the way.
Shugri Said Salh has spun a powerful true tale of her life growing up in Africa, and her journey that eventually led her to have to flee her homeland.
When Salh was six years old, she was sent as an extra daughter to assist her grandmother. Salh's grandmother was a nomad, among the last to truly live that way of life, before political upheaval and truly threatening practices changed everything Salh had ever known. Salh describes this time of her life, not only that of standing guard over her goats and listening to stories shared at night, but including the difficulties women faced-such as being blamed if a man assaulted them and thus took their virginity in the eyes of the community-and the torturous detail of Salh and her sister going through the rite of female circumcision.
Salh weaves her truth to take readers with her as her father (a frightening and violent figure) makes a series of choices that bring heartache and danger to bear on the family, as they find themselves refugees at an orphange, then fleeing to whatever town they can find that has not been swallowed by war. Salh shows us how she continued to rise from the ashes, to find a fierceness and a light and a strength within herself, and she makes sure to honor all those who gave her hope along the way.
April 25, 2022
This is a coming of age memoir following Shugri's life as a small child growing up as a nomad in the Somali desert, her teens surviving the Somali civil war, and her eventual immigration to Canada, where she met her husband.
Content Warning: Child abuse, female circumcision, war, attempted sexual assault.
This book is amazing. Starting with the writing, Shugri weaves a tale out of her life experiences and her storytelling ability is so powerful you just want to sit and listen to everything she has to say. She went through some truly awful things in her lifetime and yet she refuses not to see the positives in her life. I feel like this is a really important book to read in relation to female circumcision because it is a first account of a woman who has had this done to her and who was raised in a culture where this isn't only acceptable, its expected. This is a woman I'd be honored to meet and have a coffee with.
I listened to this on audio and I highly recommend it.
Thank you to Libro.fm for providing this audio book as part of their influencer program. I was not required to leave a review.
Content Warning: Child abuse, female circumcision, war, attempted sexual assault.
This book is amazing. Starting with the writing, Shugri weaves a tale out of her life experiences and her storytelling ability is so powerful you just want to sit and listen to everything she has to say. She went through some truly awful things in her lifetime and yet she refuses not to see the positives in her life. I feel like this is a really important book to read in relation to female circumcision because it is a first account of a woman who has had this done to her and who was raised in a culture where this isn't only acceptable, its expected. This is a woman I'd be honored to meet and have a coffee with.
I listened to this on audio and I highly recommend it.
Thank you to Libro.fm for providing this audio book as part of their influencer program. I was not required to leave a review.
August 3, 2021
“An old African proverb says, When an elder dies, a library is burned.”
This is a beautifully written memoir and I would highly recommend it if you enjoy memoirs, learning about new cultures , or even just a good story
In the first 20 or so years of her life, Shugri Said Salh goes from loved daughter and granddaughter, to an abused daughter and later sister; from enjoying the nomadic life in the Somalian dessert, to growing up in a orphanage in Mogadishu, to a refuge in Kenya and then Canada . All through her ordeals, her family is her strength and at times the cause of her suffering - but there are no heroes or villains - just a family doing the best they can given the circumstances in which they find themselves ( whether that be culturally, socio economic, politically influenced etc.)
Ms Salh has a very large extended family; I have to say it was hard keeping track of all the brothers and sisters and aunts and uncles. I wish there had been a family tree!
There is one chapter in the book that is primarily about FGM - female genital mutilation . I realize this is a very important chapter in the book, but for me it was very difficult to read . This topic generally just breaks my heart and that the author and her sisters experience had me in tears . Do not let his deter you from reading the story - I actually think it’s really important to learn more about this topic.
This is a beautifully written memoir and I would highly recommend it if you enjoy memoirs, learning about new cultures , or even just a good story
In the first 20 or so years of her life, Shugri Said Salh goes from loved daughter and granddaughter, to an abused daughter and later sister; from enjoying the nomadic life in the Somalian dessert, to growing up in a orphanage in Mogadishu, to a refuge in Kenya and then Canada . All through her ordeals, her family is her strength and at times the cause of her suffering - but there are no heroes or villains - just a family doing the best they can given the circumstances in which they find themselves ( whether that be culturally, socio economic, politically influenced etc.)
Ms Salh has a very large extended family; I have to say it was hard keeping track of all the brothers and sisters and aunts and uncles. I wish there had been a family tree!
There is one chapter in the book that is primarily about FGM - female genital mutilation . I realize this is a very important chapter in the book, but for me it was very difficult to read . This topic generally just breaks my heart and that the author and her sisters experience had me in tears . Do not let his deter you from reading the story - I actually think it’s really important to learn more about this topic.
September 14, 2021
Thank you to libro.fm for providing me with an ALC of this book. I am offering my honest opinion voluntarily. You can get this book and support indie bookstores here.
CONTENT WARNING: death of a parent, female genital mutilation, blood, abuse, excrement, molestation, gun violence, murder, trauma, mention of rape
I had just started reading this when the topic of reviewers not being able to identify with characters who differ from them resurfaced on bookstagram and book twitter. This is an issue that I’ve always struggled with, mainly because I have a tendency to identify with the emotions that characters experience. And as well all know, emotions are universal. This idea stuck in my head the entire time that I listened to this audiobook — and while my lived experiences have absolutely NOTHING in common with the brave author of this book, I could identify with her emotions fully. As the author herself states early on:
“Stories have always created understanding and connections between humans. In this era of great misunderstanding, I wish to help reign us back into our shared humanity.”
In my opinion, she did exactly this with her story. The very first thing that I noticed was the way the narrator, Waceke Wambaa, was able to convey so much joy at simple things through the telling of this story. Her lyrical accent and strong delivery made her the perfect narrator for this story. It was written in such an incredibly vivid way that transported me to the deserts of Somalia, and left me feeling as though I was right there with the author as she experienced a life unlike anything I could ever imagine living.
Shugri tells her story of growing up torn between her nomadic roots and living in villages and cities. She recounts tales of her childhood, and does so with humor and wit. I loved hearing about her mischievous ways, and I could just imagine her eyes sparkling as she cooked up her next scheme.
There’s a lot of pain in her life, but there’s also so much joy. While most of the story takes place in the past, there are also some sections that talk about her life now and how different it is. I got the distinct sense that no matter how accustomed to her current life she became, she never took it for granted and stopped marveling over it. It brings a newfound sense of wonder to my own life and forced me to think about the things that I take for granted.
When the author spoke about how storytelling is a tradition in Somalia, I could truly understand what she meant. Shugri Said Salh is a true storyteller in every sense of the word — crafting a tale I couldn’t put down, and making it so relatable. This is absolutely a book that shouldn’t be missed, and I honestly hope to read more by this amazing woman!
CONTENT WARNING: death of a parent, female genital mutilation, blood, abuse, excrement, molestation, gun violence, murder, trauma, mention of rape
I had just started reading this when the topic of reviewers not being able to identify with characters who differ from them resurfaced on bookstagram and book twitter. This is an issue that I’ve always struggled with, mainly because I have a tendency to identify with the emotions that characters experience. And as well all know, emotions are universal. This idea stuck in my head the entire time that I listened to this audiobook — and while my lived experiences have absolutely NOTHING in common with the brave author of this book, I could identify with her emotions fully. As the author herself states early on:
“Stories have always created understanding and connections between humans. In this era of great misunderstanding, I wish to help reign us back into our shared humanity.”
In my opinion, she did exactly this with her story. The very first thing that I noticed was the way the narrator, Waceke Wambaa, was able to convey so much joy at simple things through the telling of this story. Her lyrical accent and strong delivery made her the perfect narrator for this story. It was written in such an incredibly vivid way that transported me to the deserts of Somalia, and left me feeling as though I was right there with the author as she experienced a life unlike anything I could ever imagine living.
Shugri tells her story of growing up torn between her nomadic roots and living in villages and cities. She recounts tales of her childhood, and does so with humor and wit. I loved hearing about her mischievous ways, and I could just imagine her eyes sparkling as she cooked up her next scheme.
There’s a lot of pain in her life, but there’s also so much joy. While most of the story takes place in the past, there are also some sections that talk about her life now and how different it is. I got the distinct sense that no matter how accustomed to her current life she became, she never took it for granted and stopped marveling over it. It brings a newfound sense of wonder to my own life and forced me to think about the things that I take for granted.
When the author spoke about how storytelling is a tradition in Somalia, I could truly understand what she meant. Shugri Said Salh is a true storyteller in every sense of the word — crafting a tale I couldn’t put down, and making it so relatable. This is absolutely a book that shouldn’t be missed, and I honestly hope to read more by this amazing woman!
September 4, 2021
Another reviewer mentioned just peeking into the book to get a feel for it, and then becoming fully immersed. This is true--Shugri's writing is so clear and vivid and her experiences as a young girl living the nomadic life with her astonishing grandmother so absolutely alien, you too will read it in one sitting. Graphic, extremely graphic, in places, the book is honest about the culture of Shugri's homeland and its standards for women. Be prepared. Shugri describes the brutality of her intellectual father, the frightening experience of escaping to refugee camps as war tore apart her country, her experiences as an immigrant in Canada, and yet as a backdrop she holds dear the time spent as a little girl with her own herd of goats in the desert. Today she lives in California with her three daughters and her husband, who sounds amazing, and this seems crazy juxtaposed against the rest of her experiences. This is an incredible reading experience, especially for women, and Shugri's generosity in sharing her story is appreciated. Adult, for extremely graphic content.
September 16, 2021
This memoir is beautifully written, extremely candid and a powerful read. Salh's stories and reflections of her life in Somalia, the hardships of women and the harrowing tale of fleeing war create a captivating coming of age story that kept my attention from the first chapter. I loved learning more about the traditions and history of a country I knew little about and appreciated the narration giving the author's language life. If you enjoyed The Girl with the Louding Voice, I highly recommend this one - especially as an audiobook!
Thanks to Libro.fm and Workman Publishing for an ALC in exchange for an honest review.
My reviews can also be seen at www.instagram.com/justonemoorebook.
Thanks to Libro.fm and Workman Publishing for an ALC in exchange for an honest review.
My reviews can also be seen at www.instagram.com/justonemoorebook.
March 16, 2022
"When an elder dies, a library is burned." This is the jumping off point of a memoir that both preserves and scrutinizes a way of life that is vanishing to external forces and internal stresses. Shugri Said Salh lets her experiences in very different worlds guide her fond memories and her criticisms—she is uniquely able to highlight dualities that leave the reader with opinions as conflicted and complex as her own. This is an enlightening, harrowing, and rich portrayal of a country and a people torn apart by war.
*book #3 for march buzzword challenge of book with location in the title
*thank you to libro.fm for this audio copy
*book #3 for march buzzword challenge of book with location in the title
*thank you to libro.fm for this audio copy
February 4, 2024
This is a really unique perspective and an engaging memoir. That being said, I feel that the title, and the preface mischaracterizes the book. It is not primarily about Shugri’s life as a nomad, but rather about her entire childhood, most of which was not on nomadic lands. It is clear how her time on nomadic lands made a lasting impact on her and that message is powerful too but that could have been done even if it were characterized as a coming of age in Somalia (rather than exclusively as a nomad in the desert) which is more accurate. Worth reading, but do not think this is all about nomadic life.
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