Description: A study of resilience after conflict through the experiences of Somali women refugees and their community in the London diaspora.
Review Quotes: "Based on in-depth interviews with more than 60 Somali women of different generations, the book provides compelling, readable micro-histories of the women's experiences of war, flight, and the need to rebuild their lives." -- Y. L. Espiritu, CHOICE
"...this book's impressive strength, also the author's stated objective, lies in the way it records the life experiences of a group of Somali diaspora women in their own words and how it ties these accounts together under the conceptual umbrella of their multifaceted, persistent, and enormously impressive resilience. This makes this study a valuable contribution to the field and eminently worth reading." -- LIDWIEN KAPTEIJNS, Wellesley College, International Journal of African Historical Studies"A hugely compassionate book written with humanity. Joanna Lewis explores a subject too often left untouched, but worthy of careful attention. She has earned the trust of Somali women and given them a voice."-- Mary Harper, BBC Africa Editor, and author of Everything You Have Told Me Is True"The 'go to' text for those wanting to understand the incredible strength of Somali women in the diaspora. Beautifully written, cleverly innovative, and powerfully reflective, this compelling and rich oral history allows the women to speak for themselves."-- Kate Law, historian of African women and the former British Empire, and Research Fellow, Nottingham University
"In this wonderful book, we hear the voices of Somali women like never before, and learn a deep respect for their resilience, which leads from the harsh life of pastoralism to the refugee camp, and the world of exile."-- Christopher Clapham, Centre of African Studies, University of Cambridge, and author of The Horn of Africa
"This powerful and moving book offers an intimate account of the strength and resilience of Somali women. Rich in its oral history, it is also a timely reminder of the deep historical connections between modern Britain and Somaliland."-- Hannah Whittaker, Senior Lecturer in African History, Brunel University London
"The Somali diaspora is one of Africa's largest, but is often subject to misapprehension. Lewis animates the lives of women we learn to admire for their resilience, their clarity, and their unconquerable spirits."--Ato Quayson, Jean G. and Morris M. Doyle Professor in Interdisciplinary Studies, Stanford University, and co-editor of A Companion to Diaspora and Transnationalism"A richly researched book and a lucid account of the remarkable resilience of Somalis in the UK. Lewis provides much needed historical understanding of Somali presence in post-imperial Britain, elegantly linking the story to Britain's colonial past." -- Aparajita Mukhopadhyay, Lecturer in Nineteenth-Century Imperial History, University of Kent