Desert Flower

Waris Dirie ran away from her oppressive life in the African desert when she was barely in her teens, illiterate and impoverished, with nothing to her name but a tattered shawl. She traveled alone across the dangerous Somali desert to Mogadishu--the first leg of a remarkable journey that would take her to London, where she worked as a house servant; then to nearly every corner of the globe as an internationally renowned fashion model; and ultimately to New York City, where she became a human rights ambassador for the U.N. Desert Flower is her extraordinary story.

Waris Dirie, born in Somalia of nomadic parents, underwent extreme female circumcision at the age of five and ran away after being sold into marriage at 13. She became a fashion model in the USA, and on behalf of the UN gives lectures on women's rights in Africa. This is her autobiography.

Paperback edition of this remarkable story, recounting how Waris Diri ran away from her family in her native Somalia after being a victim of female circumcision, and became a successful model after being discovered working in a McDonalds in London. Illus.