THE LAST NOMAD

Salh offers a cleareyed and moving chronicle of her coming-of-age during a tumultuous time in the history of her native Somalia.

The title of this debut memoir refers to how the author is the last in her family line to follow the nomadic lifestyle: “All of my ancestors on both sides of my family were nomads; they traveled the East African desert in search of grazing land for their livestock, and the most precious resource of all—water.” Salh grew up as the daughter of a cerebral father who was “dissatisfied with the life he had been born into” and his headstrong, vibrant wife. Before entering first grade in the city, she was sent to live with her grandmother in order to provide the older woman with support as she and the rest of their tribe herded goats in the desert. The transition from being a schoolgirl to a young goatherd was rough, especially as she wondered why she was the only one of her siblings to be sent away and denied schooling. But Salh appreciated certain aspects of nomadic culture, particularly their respect for and reliance on each other. The strongest passages feature the author’s vivid recollections of nomadic life—e.g., chasing wild animals, learning to make yogurt and butter, and observing how the adults built and dismantled their portable huts—while the legacy of violence caused by Somalia’s devastating civil war loom throughout. She writes straightforwardly about how she underwent a ritualistic female circumcision and how the intense policing of her virginity continually overwhelmed her. The war eventually led Salh and many of her siblings to flee to Canada as refugees. Some of the book’s lighter moments occur when the author recalls the cultural differences she faced as she tried to adjust to life in North America, as well as her reflections on her own motherhood in her current home of Sonoma, California.

A thoughtful look at life in an often misunderstood culture and region.