ARC Review: The Last Nomad

 

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.