Desert Dawn

by Waris Dirie (Author), Jeanne D'Haem (Author)

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Fashion model, UN ambassador and courageous spirit, Waris Dirie is a remarkable woman, born into a traditional family of tribal desert nomads in Somalia. She told her story - enduring, at five years old, the ancient and savage custom of female circumcision; running away at twelve on foot through the desert in order to escape an arranged marriage; being discovered by Terence Donovan as she worked as a cleaner in London; and becoming a top fashion model - in her book, the worldwide bestseller, show more Desert Flower. Although Waris Dirie fled her homeland, she never forgot the country and culture that moulded her. The world of famine and violence, where women have no voice and no place - the very world that nearly destroyed her also gave her the tools to survive. She traces the roots of her courage, resilience and humour back to her motherland, and most particularly to her mother. Desert Dawn is the story of that return and a testimony to the stubborn fact that you can love something dearly and yet not love all that it represents. Desert Dawn is about coming home. show less

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7 reviews
What a beautiful, touching story. I work with Somali refugees on a daily basis, so I found this story particularly interesting. I was able to connect with a lot of the traditions and ways of thinking in this book after working with my students. I was able to pick out some of the Somali words in the story and apply it back to my work. Some of the words I even recognized.

Living in an area with a high population of African immigrants, the information about the drug Khat was useful, because I learned not only is an issue in Somalia, but it is becoming an issue here in our city with all of the refugees.

This book was very powerful. Her traveling experiences were incredible. I can't imagine trying to get half way across the world to try and show more find my mother and family in such a war-torn country and not even knowing if I would be allowed to enter the country, yet safely. I am looking forward to reading Dirie's previous book about how she was able to escape Somalia and become a U.N. Ambassador as well as a super model. It sounds fascinating. Her work against Female Genital Mutilation is also to be commended, though I wish there would have been more about this in the story.

The writing in this book was decent, but not perfect. It was obvious that Dirie is not a native English speaker, but that was part of the charm of the book for me.
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Having read her story of her escape from Somalia and move into the world on modelling it was interesting to read of her return to Somalia and reconnecting with family and country.
Bedrückendes, mitreißendes Buch, das anschaulich die Herkunft und die Probleme der Beschneidungspraktiken darstellt.
Deseaba volver al lugar en que nací y verlo con nuevos ojos. No tenía ni idea de en qué parte de Somalia estaba mi familia. En un principio parecía una tarea imposible, casi tan imposible como que una niña que cuidaba camellos llegara a ser modelo...Amanecer en el desierto, son las memorias de una mujer africana en busca de sus raíces, el reencuentro con su país, Somalia, con su familia y el recuerdo de una dura infancia marcada por la mutilación que sufrió a los cinco años.En esta valiente autobiografía,la autora es protagonista de su propia historia, la lucha y el coraje de una mujer, que consiguió llegar a ser una famosa top model internacional. Amanecer en el desierto, es un emocionante viaje al propio pasado, una show more búsqueda, un reencuentro y el intento de conciliar dos mundos totalmente distintos: el glamouroso mundo de las pasarelas y una infancia transcurrida en el desierto somalí.La vida de una mujer extraordinaria, una mujer que busca su lugar en el mundo. show less
El que explica el llibre és interessant, però no està massa ben escrit.

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Author Information

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Author
14 Works 2,297 Members
Author
3 Works 491 Members
Jeanne D'Haem, PhD, is an associate professor of special education at William Paterson University in New Jersey. She was a special education teacher and a director of special services for more than thirty years.

Some Editions

Dekker, Jeanet (Translator)
Krohm-Linke, Theda (Translator)

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Belongs to Publisher Series

blanvalet (35982)

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Common Knowledge

Canonical title
Desert Dawn
Original title
Desert dawn
Original publication date
2002
People/Characters
Waris Dirie; Dahi Dirie; Fatuma Ahmed Aden; Aleeke; Mohamed Dirie; Dura (show all 13); Dana Murray; Radji; Rashid; Burkhaan; Nur; Fartun; Halimo
Important places
Somalia; Galkayo, Mudug, Somalia; Mogadishu, Somalia; New York, New York, USA; Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Bosaso, Bari, Somalia
Important events
Somali Civil War
First words*
In Somalia sind Teufel weiss.
Last words*
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Mir geht es gut, und ich hoffe, dir auch.
Original language
English
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.

Classifications

Genres
Biography & Memoir, Nonfiction, General Nonfiction, Home & Garden, Art & Design
DDC/MDS
746.92092Arts & recreationDrawing & decorative artsFashion Design / Weaving, Knitting, EmbroideryOther textile productsBiography
LCC
HQ1236.5 .S58 .D572Social sciencesThe family. Marriage, Women and SexualityThe Family. Marriage. WomenWomen. Feminism
BISAC

Statistics

Members
482
Popularity
63,224
Reviews
6
Rating
½ (3.62)
Languages
12 — Dutch, English, Estonian, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish
Media
Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
ISBNs
39
ASINs
4