Waris Dirie leads a double life -- by day, she is an international supermodel and human rights ambassador for the United Nations; by night, she dreams of the simplicity of life in her native Somalia and the family she was forced to leave behind.
Desert Flower, her intimate and inspiring memoir, is a must-read for anyone who has ever wondered about the beauty of African life, the chaotic existence of a supermodel, or the joys of new motherhood.
Waris was born into a traditional Somali family, desert nomads who engaged in such ancient and antiquated customs as genital mutilation and arranged marriage. At twelve, she fled an arranged marriage to an old man and traveled alone across the dangerous Somali desert to Mogadishu -- the first leg of an emotional journey that would take her to London as a house servant, around the world as a fashion model, and eventually to America, where she would find peace in motherhood and humanitarian work for the U.N.
Today, as Special Ambassador for the U.N., she travels the world speaking out against the barbaric practice of female genital mutilation, promoting women's reproductive rights, and educating people about the Africa she fled -- but still deeply loves.
Desert Flower will be published simultaneously in eleven languages throughout the world and is currently being produced as a feature film by Rocket Pictures UK.
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"A striking account of a personal odyssey."--
Publishers Weekly
"Succeeds not just as a polemic against [female genital mutilation] and its attendant horrors, but as a classic chronicle of immigrant hardship and triumph."--
Village Voice
"Waris Dirie is a remarkable and courageous person. Her story is an inspiration. Not only did Waris overcome obstacles that would defeat most people, but as UNFPA Special Ambassador for the Elimination of Female Genital Mutilation, she will serve as a leader in the struggle to end all forms of discrimination against women."--
Dr. Nafis Sadik, executive director, United Nations Population Fund
"Waris's story is one of remarkable courage. From the deserts of Somalia to the world of high fashion, she battles against oppression and emerges a real champion. She is the most beautiful inspiration to anyone."--
Elton John作者简介
Waris Dirie ran away from her oppressive life in the African desert when she was barely in her teens, illiterate and impoverished, with nothing to her name but a tattered shawl. Today she lives in New York City, pursuing an extraordinary dual career as a supermodel whose face is internationally familiar and a United Nations special ambassador who travels the world as an articulate and passionate advocate of human rights--and now, in this insightful and important book, she offers an irresistible first-person account of her dramatic and inspiring odyssey.
Cathleen Miller wrote Desert Flower after recording over one hundred hours of interviews with co-author Waris Dirie. Her essays and articles have appeared in The Washington Post, the San Francisco Examiner, The Times-Picayune, the Denver Post, The Cimarron Review, Old House Journal, and the anthology, Travelers' Tales San Francisco. She received a Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Nonfiction at Penn State, where she taught writing for three years.She lives in Napa, California with her husband.
| 出版社 | Harper Perennial |
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| 作者 | Waris Dirie |
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