I'm always excited when I read biographies, I'm always rooting and like "show them what you can", "oh shit, you are going to fight through this hun" and be so utterly proud of their achievements and their outlook on life. The same goes for this book. Waris Dirie is an admirable woman. She went through shit, and yeah her personality would clash with a lot of people (I probably couldn't handle her, I like quite people like myself) but she worked for everything she got and had her portion of luck she deserved. A girl from Somalia, fleeing by herself, conquering the world not only because of her looks but also because of her will and her unique character.

In my copy of the book you can find two articles at the end of the actual book and let me tell you: it was more sad than the actual story. I was so happy for her, for finding love and success and having this voice against female genital mutilation. And the articles just opened this hole of misery and showed another side of her, the after effects of her life basically, that I hoped and till then believed she didn't have. I don't know what she is doing now but I hope life has been good to her and her family.

The only reason why I take one star off is because of the narrative. She goes back and forth in time without actually explaining where we are now. She would talk about her life in London and suddenly we are back again in Mogadishu and learning more about it. Sometimes it was really irritating but on the other hand, it also makes sense: time means nothing for Waris Dirie.

Wow this book left me speechless. It leaves this lump in my throat and is at the same time very inspiring. With her story Waris Dirie brings awareness to the terrible tradition of female genital mutilation in Africa. Makes me feel so blessed to be living in a country where I an live a self-determined life.

Aqui há dias enquanto fazia zapping num qualquer canal de televisao, conheci a Waris, a "Flor do deserto". Só apanhei um bocadinho do filme mas pareceu-me interessante e procurei o livro. A história de Waris é realmente inspiradora. A menina nómada somali que conseguiu fugir e ser dona do seu destino tem uma história de vida mesmo apaixonante. Neste livro vamos do deserto às grandes passagens de modelos internacionais, passando pelo flagelo da mutilação genital feminina, da qual Waris foi vítima. Uma mulher muito corajosa que merece tudo o que conquistou!

Waris Dirie's life is more amazing than any fairy tale I have read. She was an oppressed nomad girl (never getting any schooling, having her vulva mutilated at age 5 per fundamentalist Muslim ritual so that she could barely even urinate) in rural Somalia, who literally walked away when she was to be sold as a bride to a man several times her age. Through lots of hard work and some magical good luck (seriously -- very incredible), she winds up as a supermodel in NY and a UN representative trying to get the practice of female genital mutilation abolished everywhere. (I'm avoiding spoilers here because this is really an incredible journey you should read for yourself.)

Because Ms. Dirie has been in public life and interviewed extensively by Barbara Walters and other high-profile journalists, I have to assume that what she writes is verified as true. Otherwise, I wouldn't, because it's just that unbelievable. I will remember her story the next time I think something in my life is difficult. And I'm rushing off to order her other books!

I love this book. Waris' time in Somalia as a child was my favorite part. It was both disturbing and lovely and wholly real.

What I also love about this book is the way this book addressed Genital Mutilation. Discussion about problematic tribal rites like female genital mutilation is best done from within the culture as well as from the outside. If there is no point of view from the inside all it looks like is a bunch of outsiders calling a group of people barbarians. When people feel disrespected, people don’t listen. And if people do not listen, the practice simply continues. This is one of those insider books. Waris speaks out against FGM but she also shows and proclaims that she very much loves and respects her culture.

What I also love about Desert Flower is that it deals with FGM without having the issue consume the entire book. Waris was more than a victim of this traditional practice, much more. It's a well-rounded perspective.

Waris' tale is simply a great one. I'm not a fan of the modeling industry in the least. But this woman's story transcends that. It shows the journey of a feisty African girl turned woman both within her traditional community and within the traditional community of the West. The modeling industry very much represents Western tradition.

She finally goes in for the kill at the very end about FGM. All through the book I was WAITING for that, wishing for it. She summed it up really well and I was satisfied.

My only problem with the book, wasn’t really an problem. She seemed so forgiving of the West’s issues with black women and the Beauty Myth so pervasive in the modeling industry. I think this stems from her African upbringing, where she wasn’t born and raised around racism. For this reason, her world view and the places where she directs her anger are a little different. And that is ok.

گل صحرا داستان زندگی واریس دیری زنی آفریقایی است که از صحرانشینی و زندگی بدوی به مدلی موفق تبدیل شد. مهمترین مسئله ی کتاب فاجعه ی ختنه ی زنان است که خیلی ها از وجودش هم باخبر نیستند و حتی خواندنش زجرآور است، چه برسد به تجربه‌اش آن هم برای دختربچه های ده دوازده ساله.
مانور کتاب روی این موضوع نیست اما در مجموع زندگینامه ی خودنوشت جالبی است و از خواندنش راضیم.
+یاد کتابخانه بخیر که شب با کتابی آشنا می‌شدم و تصمیم می‌گرفتم بخوانمش و فردا کتاب در دستم بود! حقیقتا موهبت بزرگی بود.

I can't describe my feelings after reading that in a positive way. I felt sorrow for the girl, sadness, anger, happiness, consternation, and pride for her.

This book shows us how strong women can be. I can't even imagine overcoming all the things the main character went through, and I can't fathom that something like that still exists in the 21st century. The poor young girls who were subjected to marriage at 14 or even younger, simply because their fiancé gave their father money or camels, is literally selling one's daughter. The girls subjected to female genital mutilation (FGM) are also heartbreaking. After reading this book, I started hating men even more and wanted to volunteer to help all those girls.

This book made me understand how precious life is, and that the things we worry about are insignificant compared to stories like this. Someone can complain about trivial things like the color of their shoes, while another person is simply happy it rained. We must appreciate the life we have, because someone else has it much, much worse.

"It's when you don't have something that you appreciate it, and since we had nothing, we appreciated everything."

"On one side of the world we're struggling to feed people. On the other side of the world, people are paying money to lose weight."

"The most valuable asset in life—other than life itself—is health."

There were even romantic moments that I found endearing. I loved how he loved her for who she was.
"Oh, God. Yes, all right. We can go for lunch."
"I love you."
"I love you, too."

The passage describing the genital mutilation was horrific and heartbreaking. I've been crying because of it

I just... I don't even know how to begin to say how inspired I was by Waris' story. It was harrowing in many places and yet somehow, against all odds, she has not only survived but emerged resilient. She shows such bravery in fighting back against the scourge of Female Genital Mutilation. It is such a hugely personal and difficult thing to discuss but she has done it, not fearlessly but despite her fear and doing so helped to bring this important issue back into the public's attention. Horrifically, it is something that still takes place today - my sister, for example, who is a school teacher (in the UK) underwent training only a year or so ago on how to recognise signs of FGM in her pupils. On the plus side, of course, this does mean people are standing up and taking notice. And Waris is still fighting. I was crying as I finished reading this - what a truly amazing woman.

Ova žena je nevjerojatna inspiracija i ja nemam riječi kojima bi opisala emocije koje osjećam nakon čitanja ove knjige. Ljuta sam na običaje koji dozvoljavaju obrezivanje žena, ne razumijem kako je to moguće, tko je odlučio da žene moraju to prolaziti, tko je rekao da su one prljave ako nisu obrezane, zbog koga djevojke to i dan danas prolaze, umiru od infekcija kao posljedica običaja, ili cijeli život
žive sa neizdrživom boli. Plakala sam čitajući i znam da će mi ova knjiga još dugo biti u mislima, a ova predivna, mudra i hrabra žena zaslužuje samo dobro do kraja svoga života jer toliko je toga prošla i ostala čista i predivna.

,,Taip būna tada, kai neturi ko vertinti, o kadangi mes nieko neturėjome, vertinome viską.’’

A brilliant, courageous story for all people, men and women in the world.
If Waris could make it anyone can make it! Inspiring and insightful.
She was the first author, as far as I am aware of, who explained the
horror of women circumcision in some of Africa and Asia's cultures.
Her story changed the lives of thousands of voiceless, powerless women
when the international attention was focused on it and intervention happened.
It should remain a mission to all people in the world who can make a difference.
The practice is still followed.

Apart from that, she told a story about hardship in the African desert
and an ordinary family's survival skills.

Waris Diri's story should never die.

This was my final book of our first Novel Ideas Book Voyage. Such an excellent story, told with such honesty and bravery; bravery for Waris Dirie to bare her soul and open herself up to tell of the barbaric custom of FGM native to her heritage in the hope of bringing it to light and saving other young girls from the same fate.

While sometimes hard to read given the subject matter, this is not all that this book encompassed. It also is the story of growing up free, a nomad, in Somalia; the memories she shares of being a child running free and barefoot, tending to the goats and the respect and relationships she and all of her family and all of the tribes had with the animals. No sense of running here and there, late for this and that; it's a beautiful telling. As Waris Dirie says "growing up in Africa she was part of pure nature, pure life. "

I have a great deal of respect for Waris Dirie . None of her achievements were handed to her easily, she worked (hard) with guts and determination throughout her life; and then just knows that God wants her to tell her story. I rejoiced towards the book's end when her life took on a path to what we know as normalcy.

This book, obviously is non-fiction and I thoroughly enjoyed how it was written (WARIS DIRIE - CATHLEEN MILLER) it felt as if I was sitting down and watching an interview or better yet, having a conversation with her. Very readable throughout. I would recommend.

Thanks to my friend Melissa for bringing this woman and her story to my attention.

NOTE TO SELF - look for Barbara Walters interview 20/20 A Healing Journey; Marie Claire article The Tragedy of Female Circumcision.