"Desert Flower is the compelling autobiography of supermodel Waris Dirie, born into a traditional Somali family of nomads who believed in such archaic customs as female genital mutilation and arranged marriages between prepubescent girls and elderly men, for a dowry of a few goats and camels.".
"The young Waris survived exploitation, attempted rape, and casual violence as she tenaciously fought her way as far as London, where she took a job as a maid for a distant uncle. There, as she struggled to learn to read and write, her …