Postponing living truly fully before reaching our goals do not make sense.

Questioning our beliefs system is key to improving our life experience, living accordingly to our truth and empower others as well. Why? Because beliefs hold the key to controlling our thoughts and actions. Spending time undoing what our parents taught us, diversifying our thought patterns when it comes to our being and society is not an option, it is vital. She thinks critically about what she experienced and transforms this knowledge into empowerment, empowerment of herself first, then of others. Waris Dirie’s has come to Europe in her twenties and throughout the book she questions the philosophy and way of life of both cultures she lived in. She questions relationship dynamics, the way children are raised, gender relationships, community’s relationships, the place of spirituality and much more. Questioning our beliefs system is vital.What are the three most important things I learnt? It is an account of her internal struggles dealing with her success, the duality of her identity, her longing for her family yet her certitude that her belonging is somewhere else. It also deals with her external struggles being a woman, raising a child who has several cultures, her involvement in her country and much more. Desert Dawn is more than Waris Dirie’s account of her return to her country. What are we talking about?ĭesert Dawn is about her journey back to her homeland in Somalia, after 20 years and specifically her search for her mother and the family that shaped her. Indeed, even though the account of her story was completely different from mine especially as a teen, I still could mirror some of her internal and external circumstances as many of the challenges she encountered are universal. I did not remember all the details of the movie yet I did not forget how it made me feel – totally in control. So, while I was randomly sitting in this library-café on a Sunday, I find myself right in front of, Desert Dawn, her second book and I knew I should give it a try. It is a work of art about the odyssey of Somalian model and activist Waris Dirie, who is tackling the issue of female genital mutilation. I watched the film adaptation of the book, Desert Flower, years ago as a teen.

Desert dawn waris dirie