A Novel by Yasmeen Maxamuud




The story is brilliantly constructed, describing as it does the unbearable stresses a Somali refugee

family faces in its struggle to remake itself in melting-pot America.



Said S. Samatar Ph.D.

Professor of history, Rutgers University
Editor of Horn-of-Africa journal



A must-read first-and-only novel by and for the post-civil war generation of Somalis coming of age

in the United States, Nomad Diaries is a treasure chest—a Pandora’s box of drama, trauma, and 

elation bubbling just beneath the quizzical refugee grin, and Yasmeen Maxamud is a master narrator

of the entwined intergenerational fates of Somalis who fled catastrophe for a Pyrrhic dream.



Jesse Mills  Ph.D.

Professor of Ethnic Studies,
University of San Diego



Perhaps it takes the voice of a Somali woman writer such as Yasmeen Maxamuud –a critical,

strong, indignant voice –to cut through nuance, ambiguity, and silence to address certain ugly

realities that characterize Somali society at this junction of history:



Lidwien Kapteijns,

Wellesley College



Nomad Diaries is a captivating narrative that recounts the horrors of the Somali civil war and the

onerous, often dehumanizing burden of trying to construct a second life in a new culture where

one is not understood.



Doug Rutledge, Ph.D.

Writer
Somali Documentary Project




In the pages of Nomad Diaries, you will meet refugee families who had to construct a new life in a

foreign land not of their choosing. To forge ahead with life, they attempt to preserve cultural values

while learning a brand new way of life. But learning and adapting to a new way of life does not come

easy. Coping mechanism swing into place while acquiring a new language and new ways  of doing

things. While the relatives these refugees left behind and the destruction that continues are never far

from their mind, there is a sliver of hope in a new dawn. Nomad Dairies will make you cry, laugh and

it may even force you to think. Meet some of the characters of this intriguing and timely story:



Nadifo     Cafi  finds   herself   in   the  midst   of   an

American   life  she   much   detests   in   snow   ridden

Minneapolis of all places. She is a new immigrant

from     war   torn   Somalia.    Her   immigration     to

America is nothing she had expected. Unable to

free herself from the longing  of her former life

of luxury and abundance, Nadifo finds American

life complex. She stumbles through as she learns

English for the first time, doing homework and

figuring    out   the   American     way   of   life.  Her

husband of thirty five years Cartan seems to be

engulfed     with   self  indulgence    and  pity  which

Nadifo has no place in their new life.



Henna, Nadifo’s youngest daughter is consumed with a past she only wishes to shake off her 

present American life. Her life in America starts with a bang. But being a young Somali woman her

choices are not in harmony with culture and tradition. Every life choice she makes seems

contradictory to what is expected. She finds bliss in marriage but soon finds it stifling. She would

finally settle for the life she had always sought, but would it be a life of ecstasy or a mistake with dire

consequences?



Idil is a rebellious first generation

Somali American. She is thrown

into a culture she much detests and

a family whom she loathes. She is

happy being a simple 16 year old

American girl. Instead her

grandmother Nadifo forces her to

speak a language which arrives at

her ears sounding odd. A traditional

head scarf is thrown on her head

forcefully. She rejects it all, opting

for her guitar, skateboard and

freestyle rap. Her best friend Josh is

a white American boy whom the

entire community frowns upon.



Amy is a drop dead gorgeous American and an ESL teacher. When she is not guzzling uppers or

downers to fight anxiety and other abbreviated diseases popular only with her like and when she is

not reading self help books and magazines which dictate how to look, feel and function, she

volunteers her time to teach English to Nadifo and other immigrant women. Amy looks into the

lives of these simple refugees to find answers to her own life.



Ceebla is beautiful, poised, pious and educated.

Her love for Somali culture makes her deal with

cruel loud women who are constantly intruding

into her private life. She longs to settle down

with a good man, but her luck seems

unreachable. When she finally meets the man of

her dreams, together they attempt to defy the

pressures of family members who wish to see

their vows in shambles. But a life altering

accident would challenge everything she has

worked hard for.



Warsan grew up in the elite lane of Somali life. She remembers vacations in Geneva, boarding

schools in Paris and London and having everything she ever desired. She is the eldest daughter of

Nadifo and Cartan. But the Somali civil war took with it the life she has been accustomed to.

Warsan finds herself in a marriage that is less than desirable. Her three kids and husband would

eventually pay the price for her leap into a vague life they know nothing about.



Shirwac is a polite young man who is confused about the basic make up of his life. He is sweet and

obedient, but the more he delves into his past, the more sad he becomes. He would eventually take a

leap of faith and associate with a family who are drastically different from his own. Through this

new family he would discover an America he had only seen on TV.



Brenda Gayle is simply misunderstood. She works in the social services office which serves Somali

refugee families. She is direct, and sometimes comes across as arrogant and rude. No one would ever

imagine she could have anything in common with the refugees she serves. When she stumbles on

Nadifo years later, the two women discover each other in a way that would seem impossible only a

few years earlier. This slice of Somali Diaspora springs to life strong willed women, rebellious teens

and the aroma of immigrant life in America.



Eavesdropping on the lives of these new immigrants would

give you a new perspective as you witness America through the

eyes of its newest immigrants. Come meet these women as they

struggle, celebrate, triumph and touch each other’s lives in the 

crossroads of American melting pot.



Nomad Diaries, Life, laughter, and hope!!



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Copyright © 2009   Nomad  Diaries  By Yasmeen  Maxamuud