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A gut-wrenching story of lost childhood in Somalia

Winter of My Spring book coverAuthor: Fartumo Kusow

Author and podcaster Fartumo Kusow’s newest novel transports readers to the troubled, ancient port city of Marka in the Lower Shabelle region of Somalia. Here, on the shore of the Indian Ocean, 13-year-old Rada is too busy arguing with her mother to notice the growing unease in her town. “I saw no enemy. I knew no fear,” she says.

Like most teenagers, Rada is sure she’s immune to the current events unfolding in her country. No surprise: she’s wrong.

Rada, along with her two best friends, Mika and Sara, are kidnapped by Al-Shabaab, the Sunni Islamist political and paramilitary organization responsible for orchestrating sexual slavery and forced child marriage. What follows is an unthinkably disturbing journey that forces the girls to grow up much faster than they ever imagined. With each page, my heart breaks for them and their lost innocence.

In this ominous, unsettling age we are living in (Epstein files, I’m looking at you), I think it’s critically important to read stories like Winter of My Spring, because they allow us to bear witness to the violence that is too often wielded against girls across the globe. With little to no agency, these children—like Rada, Mika, and Sara—are forced to find strength within themselves and each other in order to literally survive. It’s too much to ask of someone so young.

Kusow shines with her quickly plotted story. Her writing is straightforward and spare, and she gives readers a vivid, unflinching picture of a time and place in history we don’t often see depicted in mainstream commercial fiction. What doesn’t work as well for me are the voices that come out of Rada, Mika, and Sara’s mouths. They frequently sound older and more mature than any 13-year-olds I know, which makes some of their dialogue feel unconvincing.

Ultimately, Winter of My Spring is a story of resilience and healing, but it’s tough to get through. Have tissues handy.

Laura Bird
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