Do you read memoirs? What kind of life stories do you look for when you are in the mood to read a memoir? Welcome back to Armed with A Book friends! I am sure you have guessed that this book review is about a memoir. The Last Nomad by Shugri Said Salh was on my anticipated book list for this year back in April and I am honored to be invited to read this book and share it with you all. A story about resilience, growing up in a country at war, cultural immersion and more, The Last Nomad is a gripping read that I have lots of say about. Let’s take a look at the synopsis and content notes first.
When Shugri Said Salh was six years old, she was sent to live with her nomadic grandmother in the desert, away from the city of Mogadishu. Leaving behind her house, her parents, her father’s multiple wives, and her many siblings, she would become the last of her family to learn a once-common way of life. The desert held many risks, from drought and hunger to the threat of predators, but it also held beauty, innovation, and centuries of tradition. Shugri grew to love the freedom of roaming with her goats and the feeling of community in learning the courtship rituals, cooking songs, and poems of her people. She was even proud to face the rite of passage that all “respectable” girls undergo in Somalia, a brutal female circumcision.
In time, Shugri would return to live with her siblings in the city. Ultimately, the family was forced to flee as refugees in the face of a civil war—first to Kenya, then to Canada, and finally to the United States. There, Shugri would again find herself a nomad in a strange land, learning to navigate everything from escalators to homeless shelters to, ultimately, marriage, parenthood, and nursing school. And she would approach each step of her journey with resilience and a liveliness that is all her own.
At once dramatic and witty, The Last Nomad tells a story of tradition, change, and hope.
Content Notes: Depiction of warm sexual assault, domestic violence, corporal punishment, mutilation, violence, murder, death of family and loved ones.
Thoughts on The Last Nomad
Books like The Last Nomad are a wonderful way to learn about different parts of the world and what it is like to live there. I knew next to nothing about Somalia when I saw this book and I feel like by the time I finished, I had a better understanding of culture and history. Shugri’s memoir starts with her childhood memories of growing up in the desert with her grandmother. She explains the clans and subclans that people identify with and connect on. Though I have never lived in the desert, I have visited desert cities like Jaipur in India and watched documentaries about Indian deserts. It was really cool to read about the Somalia of Shugri’s childhood and be able to make a picture in my head with my prior knowledge of the desert in India (where I grew up).
On Awareness and Perseverance
One of the major realizations that Shugri has as she gets older and reflects on her past is how little she knew about the political landscape and unrest in her country when she was young. In her nomad years with her grandmother, the unrest was minimal and she could live in the moment. Coming back to the desert after a few years of living in the cities was an eye opener on how different the lives were.
She was a teenager when war engulfed her country. Clans were fighting with each other and even though most people were descended from different clans, reciting the wrong lineage could lead to death. At this point in the book, Shugri mentions other things that were going on around the world. UN Security Council’s ultimatum to Iraq to leave Kuwait in 1990 was more than the civil war in Somalia. Since my move to the West, it has been interesting to see the snippets of news that we get from the east and how selective it is. In these times of global connectivity, important news still gets pushed down by other agendas.
War makes people grow up before their time, but that is not to say that the way of living in the desert surrounded by wild animals, always looking for food and water for the family, and cultural rituals like female circumcision didn’t already add a lot of world experience to a child.
When I finished reading The Last Nomad, I took a pause and thought about what was depicted in the book. Seeing Shugri’s life from when she was a young child to the present, where it all began and where it is today, offered a broad timeline to ponder. How much the world changes! How many things we never imagined would happen to us and they do! When I was a 7 year old in India, I had no clue that two decades later I would own my own house and be a permanent resident in Canada. Our childhood minds have dreams but how they turn out precisely only time tells us.
On Strength of Women
It would be an injustice to not mention the amazing women in the pages of this memoir. Ariel and I shared about The Mountains Sing earlier in the year and it was a beautiful tribute to grandmothers. Similarly, The Last Nomad is another book that made me reminisce about my grandmother. Shugri talks about her ayeeyo with so much love and affection. What an extraordinary woman to grow up with – someone who was an independent woman in a patriarchal culture!
In one of the earlier chapters in the book, Shugri talks about her mother, Ruqiya. Since Shugri grew up with her grandmother, this chapter about piecing together who her mom was and what her struggles were had so much sorrow and grief, it was heartbreaking. One does not need first hand experience to feel the pain.
The elder sisters played a monumental role throughout Shugri’s life. They were mothers to her, and these familial bonds were one of the highlights of the book and the culture for me.
Reading Experience Summary
The Last Nomad was a fast read for me. The first 60% of the book flew by. The desert landscape and the Somali culture reminded me of India in some ways. The last 40% described war times and Shugri’s experiences as a refugee and immigrant. These chapters were very impactful too and I realized that I was reading every word very carefully. As an immigrant myself, I connected with many of the struggles of moving to Canada. Taking the bus was a huge stress for me for a while too and with being home for the last year and a half with covid, I had forgotten those challenges.
This is a beautiful book and I learned so much. If you are interested to know about the world, pick up this book. You’ll learn about a culture that you might not know a lot about, you will get to know experiences of refugees and immigrants. But most importantly, you will read about family, close-knit bonds that drive people to keep their loved ones together, to do everything they can to help them cross oceans and find a safer place, because home isn’t a safe place for all of us.
Will you pick up this book?
The Last Nomad is available in stores. Be sure to check your local library and order it through there to help this book reach more readers.
Amazon Print
Amazon Kindle
About the Author
Shugri Said Salh was born in the desert of Somalia in 1974 and spent her early years living as a nomad. In 1992, she emigrated to North America after the civil war broke out in her home country. She attended nursing school at Pacific Union College and graduated with honors. And although this is her first book, Shugri 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. She lives in Sonoma County with her family.
Many thanks to the publisher for providing me a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you for reading this post about The Last Nomad! I will be back with another memoir in the next few weeks. Meantime, do check out this book!
Cover image: Photo by Tim de Groot on Unsplash
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