I just finished reading Waris  Dirie’s story of her nomadic childhood in Somalia, escape to London, and eventual career as a runway model in New York.  It was fantastic and heartbreaking.

She gives a graphic description of the Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) she endured at five years old, and the effects it had on her later in life.  Reading about how young girls are mutilated with rusty razor blades, sharp rocks, and even sometimes teeth, made my intestines quiver.

She has an easy, conversational writing style, which makes even the most graphic parts of her story very readable.  If you are interested in her story, but do not want to read the book, you can also watch the movie (also called Desert Flower).  I have not seen it yet, but I hear it is pretty good.

And now I am going to give thanks that I was born in America.