“The Last Nomad: Coming of Age in the Somali Desert” – A Program with Shugri Said Salh

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  • Nov 09, 2021

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Author Shugri Said Salh will speak about her debut book, The Last Nomad: Coming of Age In the Somali Desert in a conversation with Mana Abdi, program coordinator at the Bates College Office of Intercultural Education. This free, public program, hosted by the Lewiston Public Library, Bates College, and Maine Community Integration will take place on Tuesday, November 9th at 7 PM on Zoom and will stream to the Library’s Facebook page.

Born in Somalia, a spare daughter in a large family, Shugri Said Salh was sent at age six to live with her nomadic grandmother in the desert. The last of her family to learn this once-common way of life, Salh found herself chasing warthogs, climbing termite hills, herding goats, and moving constantly in search of water and grazing lands with her nomadic family. For Salh, though the desert was a harsh place threatened by drought, predators, and enemy clans, it also held beauty, innovation, centuries of tradition, and a way for a young Sufi girl to learn courage and independence from a fearless group of relatives. Salh grew to love the freedom of roaming with her animals and the powerful feeling of community found in nomadic rituals and the oral storytelling of her ancestors.

As she came of age, though, both she and her beloved Somalia were forced to confront change, violence, and instability. Salh writes with engaging frankness and a fierce feminism of trying to break free of the patriarchal beliefs of her culture, of her forced female genital mutilation, of the loss of her mother, and of her growing need for independence. Taken from the desert by her strict father and then displaced along with millions of others by the Somali Civil War, Salh fled first to a refugee camp on the Kenyan border and ultimately to North America to learn yet another way of life. In The Last Nomad, Salh tells her inspiring story about leaving Africa, learning English, finding love, and embracing a new horizon for herself and her family.

The Last Nomad was named an Apple Best Book of the Month in August 2021, and an Amazon Best Biography & Memoir Book of the Month for 2021. Kirkus Reviews described it as “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.”

Shugri Said Salh was born in the Somali desert. In 1992, she immigrated to North America after civil war broke out in her home country. She attended nursing school at Pacific Union College and graduated with honors. Although this is her first book, Salh has been storytelling since she could talk. From her grandmother and the nomadic community in which she was raised, she heard stories and learned of their power to entertain, teach, and transform. When she isn’t writing or telling stories, she works as an infusion nurse. She lives in Sonoma County with her husband and three children.

Interviewer Mana Abdi, born in Kenya and of Somali descent, moved with her family to the U.S. when she was eleven. After graduating from Lewiston High School, she earned a B.A. in political science and international and global studies at the University of Maine Farmington, where she helped create campus initiatives and programming to increase equity, inclusion, and diversity. As Vice President of the Maine Youth Network, Abdi’s focus is to uplift and empower youth who share her experience as a refugee. She is passionate about providing immigrant children and young adults the necessary tools to compete and succeed in life. At Bates, she works with others to create a just, safe, sustainable, and collaborative community.

Register here for the Zoom webinar or watch the live stream on the Lewiston Public Library Facebook page. For more information, contact the LPL Adult & Teen Services desk at 513-3135 or LPLReference@lewistonmaine.gov.