Warda: My Journey from the Horn of Africa to a College Education

Set in the rugged shrublands of rural Ethiopia, the contentious neighborhoods of South Africa, and the icy streets of Michigan, Warda is the story of a fierce young woman on a tireless quest to become the first member of her family to go to college. Born in Saudi Arabia to undocumented, ethnic Somali parents living hundreds of miles from their ancestral homeland, Warda Mohamed Abdullahi loses her mother in a horrific accident as a baby and must live apart from her father until she's eleven years old. As she grows up, she faces tragedy and triumph, from staring down a wild leopard to protect her family's sheep and goats, to carefully crossing borders and evading immigration officials across Africa, and traveling with her family to America to begin life anew. Warda is a powerful memoir that will help readers understand the inequities and injustices embedded in a global system that determines who is allowed to move freely and live where they choose. It is the story of a father's relentless quest to give his eldest daughter the opportunities he never had and a daughter's perseverance, determination, and steadfast refusal to let go of a dream.