Born in the Big Rains: A Memoir of Somalia and Survival by Fadumo Korn, Sabine Eichhorst, Tobe Levin

From the Publisher

"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 theUniversity of Maryland in Europe and co-founder of FORWARD-Germany.

Publishers Weekly

Beginning with its evocative opening sentence "In the distance, a lion roared, deep and long, dismissing the night" this impassioned, beautifully written memoir is a testament to the possibility of wedding literary prose to sophisticated political arguments. Korn grew up as a spirited girl in an Islamic Somalian nomadic tribe in the late 1960s. At seven she was forced to undergo female circumcision, in which her clitoris and labia minora were removed with crude utensils and her vagina sewn up. After chronic pain, illness and rheumatism set in, Korn went to live with her rich uncle, a government official in Mogadishu, until her circumcision-related ailments became debilitating; she was taken to Germany for medical treatment, and years later her circumcision was undone. Married to a German, Korn became involved in the European campaign against female genital mutilation (FGM). While the bulk of the book is a devastating and swiftly moving account of Korn's tragedy-filled life, it also persuasively argues that health workers must understand the power of traditional customs even as they work to end FGM. Written with German writer Eichhorst, this is a brutally honest, politically sensitive and bold addition to literature on global women's health. (Nov.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

KLIATT

Born in the Somalian desert, Fadumo Husen was a happy child in a loving nomadic family, but everything changed for her when, at the age of seven, she was circumcised. Circumcision was a tradition for all Somalian girls at that time. They were told that once they were circumcised, they would be "pure" and "clean" and a woman. For Fadumo, circumcision was followed by intense fevers and swelling in all her limbs. Her resulting rheumatism so crippled and disabled her that her father finally took her to Mogadishu to see his half-brother, a doctor. There followed other doctors, other hospitals in Italy and Germany, but only temporary relief. Finally, in Germany, Faduma found a surgeon able to reduce some of the effects of the original circumcision. The saga of Fadumo's physical and psychological pain is a beautifully written backdrop to the story of her eventual crusade against the custom of female "cutting"—"cutting" because many women reject the phrase "female mutilation" as implying that they have been damaged by the process. She found the group FORWARD (Foundation for Women's Health, Research and Development) and became an activist against female circumcision. There are two stories interwoven in this smooth-flowing text. One is personal, the story of Fadumo's life, her family, and her eventual marriage and the birth of her son. The second is that of the growing social movement in favor of African women and against female genital mutilation. Each story has its own development and outcome. Together they are a reading experience not to be missed. Reviewer: Patricia Moore

Details from Seller

• ISBN: 1558615784
• Publisher: Feminist Press at CUNY, The
• Pub. Date: April 2008
• Condition:

Comments from the Seller: Absolutely Brand New & In Stock. 100% 30-Day Money Back. Direct from our warehouse. 5+ million customers served-In business since 1997. Happy Customers is Our #1 Goal. Toll Free Support. 4 to 14 day Delivery Time by US Post Office.

• Table of Contents

Table of Contents