“I wanted to return to the place where I was born and see it with new eyes. I had no idea where my family was in Somalia. At first it seemed impossible—almost as impossible as a camel girl becoming a fashion model.” The sequel to Waris Dirie’s international best–seller Desert Flower.

Fashion model, UN ambassador, and courageous spirit, Waris Dirie is a remarkable woman. Born into a family of tribal desert nomads in Somalia, she told her story in the worldwide best–seller Desert Flower: enduring female circumcision at the age of five; running away through the desert at twelve to escape an arranged marriage; being discovered by photographer Terence Donovan as she worked as a cleaner in London; and becoming a top fashion model. Although she fled Somalia, she never forgot the country or the family that shaped her. Desert Dawn is Waris Dirie’s profoundly moving account of her return to her homeland. As an international model, Waris Dirie was the face of Revlon. In 1997, as part of its campaign to eliminate female genital mutilation, the United Nations appointed her Special Ambassador for Women’s Rights in Africa. She now lives in New York with her son.