The author’s memoir of her life from being a nomad in Somali to her new life in California was both sad and uplifting but a captivating read because I learned about life style I had not read about before. The author provides just enough detail of her early life both the struggles and pleasures and the decisions she at a very young age had to make and how she adopted her new life. Each chapter begins with a proverb for the reader to contemplate as they read. Also, included was the some history of Somalia and that affected her mentally and physically throughout her life and again provides the reader insights into life changes there. ( )

The Last Nomad: Coming of Age in the Somali Desert by Shugri Said Salh both moves and educates. The author provides an insight into the culture and traditions of Somalia. By describing the cause, the journey, the fact that no one becomes a refugee by choice, and the willingness to work for an adoptive home, the book speaks to the plight of people around the world forced into similar situations. Perhaps, the book may educate on that broader scale as well and promoting understanding.

Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2021/08/the-last-nomad.html

Reviewed for NetGalley and a publisher's blog tour. ( )

“When an elder dies, a library is burned.”

This book follows the amazing, and extremely difficult life of the author! It is a testament to her courage and strength, and is an incredible read! Chapter 4, “Carrying Out Tradition” is about the author’s circumcision, extremely powerful and hard to read. The whole book just left me in awe, and had a profound affect on how I look at my own life. It is one of those books that I couldn't put down, and didn't want to end. The author has a powerful voice, and I hope we hear from her again! Wonderful read! ( )

nomadic-life, Somalia, Canada, civil-war, refugees, adaptability, inner-strength, family, family-dynamics, cultural-heritage, culture-shock, clan-feud, biography, memoir*****

Goats, camels, family. The nomadic life Shugri knew of the Somali is gone now, destroyed by civil/denominational wars. Some parts of that life were wonderful and life-affirming, not so much for women and girls in most cases. But the reality of war in your town/house/everywhere you try to go is what PTSD is made of. How fortunate the people who have never had the hard realities of war impressed upon their lives and souls. And the assimilation of a totally foreign culture/language is a Herculean task. Peppered throughout the book are good Somali proverbs recounted to preserve the good things about heritage and honor the strong women who came before.
I requested and received a free temporary ebook copy from Algonquin Books via NetGalley. Thank you! ( )

This is a fascinating account of the life of a young girl growing up in a nomadic family in Somalia. Reading like a novel, the author provides an account of her life beginning when she was six years old and is sent to live with her nomadic grandmother in the desert. There she learns to herd goats and how to protect them from lions and hyenas. Then she writes of her life in Somali cities, escaping war-torn Somalia, life as a refugee in Kenya, then her journey to Canada and eventually to California. She finds love and graduates from nursing school with honors. Filled with fascinating details of her culture, I was totally immersed in this amazing memoir.

The book opens with the following –
“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 honors her ayeeyo (grandmother) whom she saw as “poetic, regal, and resilient.” She taught Sughri to honor herself, to see herself as important, and not to give in to the demands of men. She instilled in Sughri courage and confidence. Who Shugri is today was shaped by her loving ayeeyo. And while Shugri’s abusive father had his faults, he was a teacher and insisted that his daughters be educated. He taught them the adage that “if you educate a son, you educate one person, but if you educate a daughter, you educate the whole community.” I loved her sister Abshiro was also very brave - she took in all her siblings after their mother’s death and she stood up to men to protect her family.

Shugri led a life of innocence in the Somali desert until she was eight years old when she underwent female genital mutilation. “In Somalia, the clitoris is blamed for all humanity’s troubles - the root of all evil, so to speak.” The procedure itself is horrifying alone, but I never realized the lifelong agony it caused.

While life was extremely difficult, there were many moments of humor in her life – peeing on a lion in the bushes, finding that her red dress sexually aroused a camel, and her fear of escalators.

I loved her beautiful description of life in Mogadishu before the war tore it apart – “Religion was practiced with kindness, and cultures were valued.”

Like Afghanistan, Somalia went from being a country where people (particularly women) had rights and freedom to one where tyrants used the shield of religion to oppress and eventually kill half a million people. “On December 31, 1990, Somalia entered into full-blown war.” It became unsafe to leave their homes - food became scarce, clan turned against clan. Most of the world was unaware of their suffering because their focus was on Iraq. This was the time of Operation Desert Storm.

In the end, she mourns the loss of the Somali culture and identity, even the nomadic way of life, to the restrictions of Wahhabism. She laments what she loves about her culture but also is brutally honest with what she sees as its hypocrisy. She is heartbroken by the violence inflicted by Somalis on Somalis.

I was astounded by just how resilient Shugri is. She adapted quickly as life’s circumstances changed for her. I love learning about other cultures and am thankful to Shugri for helping me better understand the life of women in Somalia. I admire the strength and courage it took for her survival. But as she writes, “Survival is woven into the fabric of who I am.”

“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.”

I highly recommend this beautifully written and mesmerizing memoir. ( )