Publishers Weekly
06/28/2021
In this agile personal history of trauma, civil strife, and asylum, debut author Salh vividly describes a youth divided between opposing worlds. After being raised in the Somali nomadic tradition by her grandmother in the desert, Salh left at age nine to live with her siblings in Mogadishu in the 1980s until violence forced them to flee, first to Kenya and eventually Canada. With precision, Salh writes about her role in memorializing her nation’s history through the writing of this book—and the civil war that was overshadowed in world news by contemporaneous American aggression in Iraq—while illustrating the contradictory gender dynamics of the culture she grew up in, due to the growth in religious extremism. Though she received an education in her teens—thanks in part to Somali dictator Siad Barre’s belief in women’s equality—she continued to fear for her safety in a misogynistic society where men were “empowered, guilt-free, and valued above women” and female virginity signified a family’s social standing. This sentiment is rendered most boldly when she describes her circumcision, a harrowing rite of passage in her otherwise “blissful” childhood. Despite the graphic nature of her experiences, Salh’s prose radiates with deep empathy and sensitivity, a reflection of the gift for storytelling she inherited from her poet grandmother. This stuns with its raw beauty. (Aug.)
From the Publisher
Winner of the 2022 Gold Nautilus Award, Multicultural Indigenous Category Finalist for the CALIBA/Golden Poppy Award, Martin Cruz Smith Diversity Category An Apple Best Book of the Month, August 2021 An Amazon Best Book of the Month, Biographies Memoirs, August 2021 “Salh’s prose radiates with deep empathy and sensitivity, a reflection of the gift for storytelling she inherited from her poet grandmother. This stuns with its raw beauty.”—Publishers Weekly “A brilliant and riveting book . . . The Last Nomad introduces the reader to the real lives in Somalia and the resilience of its people not only inside the nation but beyond.”—Abdi Nor Iftin, author of Call Me American “Shugri Salh's The Last Nomad is a fascinating look at a disappearing culture. It's told from the perspective of a girl growing into womanhood in a place where women's value and virtue hinges on the actions of men. Salh's stories of bravery and resilience intersplice with those of everyday joy and struggle. They show her forever navigating the place where two worlds collide with grace and skill, as perhaps only a nomad can.”—Tracey Baptiste, author of The Jumbies and African Icons: Ten People Who Shaped History “Stunning . . . A clear-eyed, richly-remembered memoir that takes its readers on the journey of a lifetime.”—KQED “An illuminating and engaging read . . . [Salh] offers an important perspective, carefully documenting her experiences and how they reflect geopolitical issues . . . A thoughtful and resonant celebration of the human spirit.”—Booklist “[A] beautifully written memoir . . . Salh’s memoir is a tale of both physical danger and family warmth and traditions, both nomadic and urban. She brilliantly takes the reader along with her, whether that is in the desert tending her herd or in the city, protecting her family . . . A memoir that demonstrates the power of a young woman to adapt to many difficult changes in life, by an author who was truly inspired by the strength and power of women in her own family.”—Library Journal (starred review) “A clear-eyed and moving chronicle of her coming-of-age during a tumultuous time in the history of her native Somalia . . . A thoughtful look at life in an often-misunderstood culture and region.”—Kirkus Reviews“An intense, compassionate, and moving story of tradition and resilience.”—Book Riot “The prose is simple and open, and captivating. Shugri’s voice calmly teaches us about a stunning world most Americans are unfamiliar with, and the struggles of immigrating.”—Napa Valley Register, Elayna Trucker “Salh shares her incredible journey across cultures and continents . . . She writes with reverence of her desert upbringing, under the wing of her grandmother, in a world of savage beauty, poetry, and storytelling. She also reflects with clear-eyed honesty on the plight of women in a repressive culture and the cruelties she witnessed in a homeland she describes as riven by clan warfare.”—Sonoma Magazine “An absorbing attempt to explain, through vivid recollection and compassion for her own personal traumas and triumphs, how it feels to have experienced two such dramatically divergent lives. —San Francisco Chronicle “Shugri Said Salh has had a life few of us could ever imagine. From the age of six, she lived as a nomad on Somalia’s unforgiving, arid plains, herding goats under the gentle tutelage of her wise grandmother. Forced to flee with her family during the country’s early-’90s civil war, she lived in refugee camps before beginning a new life from scratch in North America. That quick summary makes The Last Nomad sound like a tragic read, but Salh’s intense focus on her connection to her family and her culture packs an inspiring emotional wallop. As a nurse, she’s crystal clear about why female genital mutilation is harmful to women. Yet her eye-opening description of undergoing it as a girl is filled with a surprisingly deep connection to her heritage. If you don’t know much about the lives of Somali women before starting The Last Nomad, knowing Salh’s story will make you want to learn more.”—Apple Books, Best Book of the Month, August “A natural storyteller, Shugri Said Salh was born in the Somali desert and has endured war, refugee camps, loss and oppressive traditions on her way to finding her home.”—Ms. magazine “A unique story of an unusual life.”—Southern California News Group, Stuart Miller “A triumph of storytelling that illuminates the nomadic culture . . . As a testimony to human resilience as well as a love letter to Somalia and its people, The Last Nomad delivers accessible insights. Salh’s hard-won wisdom endures in her sometimes painful, yet always riveting and entertaining book.”—BookBrowse “Heartbreaking and soaringly inspirational . . . Gorgeous.”—Petaluma Argus-Courier “The riveting and lyrical tale she tells is complex and reflects many angles of a patriarchal nomadic culture that is by turns oppressive and supportive, frightening and beautiful . . . Her storyteller’s voice infuses her memoir with a playful, poetic spirit.”—North Bay Bohemian “Salh writes lyrically and with reverence about her upbringing… she recalls with clear-eyed honesty the casual cruelties she witnessed in a homeland riven by clan warfare and a native culture that, for all its rich traditions, is rooted in misogyny.”—Santa Rosa Press-Democrat “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. Filled with fascinating details of her culture, I was totally immersed in this amazing memoir.”—Bookreporter “This effortlessly told story documents both a personal and national history of strife. Salh’s unforgettable memoir is about hardship, the ‘rhythm and rituals of nomadic life,’ and a victorious song at the end of personal and national trauma.”—Isele Magazine “This stunning memoir is an exploration of identity, survival, and finding yourself wherever you are.”—A Mighty Girl, 2021 Mighty Women Reading List for Adults Pick
Library Journal
★ 12/03/2021
Salh's beautifully written memoir about her youth in Somalia also offers a tribute to her grandmother. Salh vividly describes her early life as a nomadic goat herder and the influence of her father, a teacher of Arabic. Life for young Salh, as she describes it, is one rich in poetry and storytelling; she refers to Somalia as a "nation of poets," where poetry is considered a major form of communication for nomads. Sahl's memoir is a tale of both physical danger and family warmth and traditions, both nomadic and urban. She brilliantly takes the reader along with her, whether that is in the desert tending her herd or in the city, protecting her family. As war draws close to Sahl's large family, she is forced into exile, first in Kenya, and then on to Canada and the United States. That is no easy route either, and her reactions to all of the changes in her life make for a powerful story. VERDICT A memoir that demonstrates the power of a young woman to adapt to many difficult changes in life, by an author who was truly inspired by the strength and power of women in her own family. Recommended strongly for all libraries. —Amy Lewontin, Northeastern Univ. Lib., Boston
Kirkus Reviews
2021-06-11
Salh offers a cleareyed and moving chronicle of her coming-of-age during a tumultuous time in the history of her native Somalia.
The title of this debut memoir refers to how the author is the last in her family line to follow the nomadic lifestyle: “All of my ancestors on both sides of my family were nomads; they traveled the East African desert in search of grazing land for their livestock, and the most precious resource of all—water.” Salh grew up as the daughter of a cerebral father who was “dissatisfied with the life he had been born into” and his headstrong, vibrant wife. Before entering first grade in the city, she was sent to live with her grandmother in order to provide the older woman with support as she and the rest of their tribe herded goats in the desert. The transition from being a schoolgirl to a young goatherd was rough, especially as she wondered why she was the only one of her siblings to be sent away and denied schooling. But Salh appreciated certain aspects of nomadic culture, particularly their respect for and reliance on each other. The strongest passages feature the author’s vivid recollections of nomadic life—e.g., chasing wild animals, learning to make yogurt and butter, and observing how the adults built and dismantled their portable huts—while the legacy of violence caused by Somalia’s devastating civil war loom throughout. She writes straightforwardly about how she underwent a ritualistic female circumcision and how the intense policing of her virginity continually overwhelmed her. The war eventually led Salh and many of her siblings to flee to Canada as refugees. Some of the book’s lighter moments occur when the author recalls the cultural differences she faced as she tried to adjust to life in North America, as well as her reflections on her own motherhood in her current home of Sonoma, California.
A thoughtful look at life in an often misunderstood culture and region.
