{"product_id":"desert-flower-by-waris-dirie-3593e","title":"Desert Flower by Waris Dirie","description":"\u003cp\u003eWaris Dirie, whose name means  desert flower , was born in Somalia of nomadic parents. She underwent extreme female circumcision at the age of five, and when she was 13 her father sold her into marriage with a 60-year-old for five camels, at which time she ran away. She was discovered by a fashion photographer in the United States whilst working as a janitor at McDonald's, and became a model who has been used to promote Revlon skin-care products. She also speaks on women's rights in Africa and travels the world to give lectures on behalf of the UN. This is her autobiography. n nReviews n nJoining the current rage for model memoirs (see review above) is nDirie, a native of Somalia, who has for more than a decade stalked nthe world's catwalks and appeared in numerous glossy magazines. nThis, however, is no fluff-job dictated into a tape recorder on ntransatlantic flights, then recomposed by a hired gun back in New nYork. Rather, it is a striking account of a personal odyssey that nbegan in the Somali desert, where Dirie grew up without shoes, nliving amid nomadic tribes and tyrannized by patriarchal nstrictures. As a pubescent girl, Dirie was circumcised'a procedure ndescribed here in chilling detail'before escaping an arranged nmarriage to stay with an aunt in Mogadishu. Landing a job as a nhouse servant in London, Dirie struggled to launch a modeling ncareer while dodging British immigration authorities and the ndreadful results of marriages of convenience. At the end of this naffecting and at times very entertaining book, Dirie's nmetamorphosis from desert nomad into jetsetting nomad culminates in na post as a human rights ambassador to the UN, where, these days, nDirie campaigns for the eradication of female circumcision and nwomen's rights around the globe. It's easy to forget that Dirie's nmemoir is a book about someone whose success has come from posing nfor the camera. Indeed, it is Dirie's remarkable lack of narcissism nor entitlement that makes her so captivating a raconteur. Photos. nEditor: Billy Kelly; agent: Christie Fletcher\/Carol Mann Agency; nauthor tour. (Sept.) FYI: Foreign rights have sold in 10 countries. n nDirie fled genital mutilation in her native Somalia and now speaks nout against the practice for the UN. Appearing in 11 languages; a nfilm is in progress.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Book Express","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":41843976241226,"sku":"3593e","price":12.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0618\/9101\/8826\/files\/3593e_178e2b85-e687-4f49-956e-ddfbe27822bd.jpg?v=1765446377","url":"https:\/\/www.bookexpress.nz\/products\/desert-flower-by-waris-dirie-3593e","provider":"Book Express","version":"1.0","type":"link"}