CALL ME AMERICAN (ADAPTED FOR YOUNG ADULTS)

Somali-born Iftin presents a narrative of his journey from a war-torn homeland to his current life in Maine.

The story begins with the catastrophic drought and war of the late 1970s that interrupted his young parents’ carefree and wealthy nomadic life in a lush region of south-central Somalia. Neither they nor the country ever managed to recover as one cycle of conflict led to another, raging on until the present day. These waves of violence reduced everyday Somalis’ lives to ones of chronic poverty, displacement, uncertainty, and fear but failed to extinguish hopes or dreams. Iftin, who was probably born in 1985, and his beloved brother schemed moneymaking enterprises together, skipping school to sell snacks to moviegoers. Under the noses of religious authorities, he arranged secret rendezvous with his first crush. Given the circumstances, Iftin’s boyish escapades involved a level of daring that maintains suspense. Later, as a college student in Mogadishu, he recorded reports for NPR’s The Story despite potentially life-threatening repercussions from al-Shabaab. Chief among Iftin’s dreams was to live in America, his impressions of the country fed by Black pop culture and American movies, which did not prepare him for the complex racial realities that he encountered and recognized as a form of tribalism when he eventually made it to the U.S. This remarkable, nuanced story facilitates a deeper understanding of immigration today.

A triumphant memoir that offers hope for Somalia’s and, indeed, America’s futures.