Salh is the last person in her direct lineage to have lived as a nomad and keeper of her family stories. Her beloved country of Somalia was changed forever by a civil war. Her grandmother imbued her with resilience, courage, love of poetry, and storytelling. Salh shares her journey from the deserts of East Africa to the green pastures of Northern California. Shugri Said Salh was born in Somalia in 1974. In 1992, she immigrated to North America after civil war broke out in her home country. She attended nursing school at Pacific Union College and graduated with honors. From her grandmother and the nomadic community in which she spent her early years, she heard stories and learned of their power to entertain, teach, and transform. She now lives in Northern California with her husband and three children and works as a post-operative nurse and infusion specialist. She is the author of The Last Nomad: Coming of Age in the Somali Desert (Algonquin books 2021)

Interview Date: 9/24/2021   Tags: Shugri Said Salh, Somalia, Mogadishu, Galkayo, female circumcision, Al-Shabaab, Somali civil war, Personal Transformation, Global Culture, History, Women’s Studies