"A moving, unsentimental, and informative account of the painful personal experience that inspired, and continues to fuel, [Fadumo Korn's] work."-Francine Prose, People magazine, starred critic's choice
"This impassioned, beautifully written memoir is a testament to the possibility of wedding literary prose to sophisticated political arguments. . . . A brutally honest, politically sensitive, and bold addition to literature on global women's health."-Publishers Weekly, starred review
"A courageous . . . indispensable testament."-Elfriede Jelinek, 2004 Nobel Laureate in Literature
Selected as a Kirkus Reviews top pick for book clubs, Fadumo Korn's story describes her brutal circumcision at age seven and her agonizing path to physical and psychological recovery.
Born a nomad, freely roaming the Somalian steppes, Korn nearly dies from the effects of female genital mutilation (FGM). As her health deteriorates, Korn is sent to Mogadishu for treatment and, despite the looming civil war, finds herself living amid luxury in the household of her uncle, a relative of the Somali president. Escaping the political upheaval, she travels to Europe for advanced medical care and eventually becomes an anti-FGM activist.
Fadumo Korn is the vice president of FORWARD-Germany, an organization dedicated to promoting action to stop FGM. She lives with her husband and son in Munich.
Writer and radio journalist Sabine Eichhorst is the author of Courage to Defend Yourself: Strategies against Sexual Violence and A Long Way Home: A Prisoner of Uzbekistan.
Dr. Tobe Levin is collegiate professor at the University of Maryland in Europe and co-founder of FORWARD-Germany.
