A fantastic memoir! Nice is truly inspirational.
Thank you very much to Little, Brown and Company and NetGalley for the ARC.

The Girls in the Wild Fig Tree is a memoir by a Maasai Kenyan woman, named Nice Leng'ete, who narrowly escaped Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) not once, but MULTIPLE times, by running away and at times hiding in Fig Trees. Also referred to as "the cut", FGM was a required rite of passage for all pubescent (and some even younger) girls, but the dangerously unsanitary and brutally painful practice was not only a form of child and gender-based abuse, but was also illegal, life-altering and potentially fatal. Forced to watch the practice at a very young age, Nice grows up traumatized, knowing that she does not want to experience the cut. With the added childhood traumas of: becoming an orphan at 8 due to AIDS claiming both of her parents in less than a year, the fatal drowning of her younger brother, separation from her siblings and neglect and abuse from some of the family members who took her in after her parent's death, it is astounding that Nice managed to survive childhood much less go on to be part of a movement which is working towards eradicating FGM practices around the world!

Nice attributes her ability to attend and graduate primary, secondary and even post secondary education (an extremely rare feat for women and even men in her community) to her several narrow escapes from FGM. Starting before she was 10, her male family members prepared to preform the rite of passage and then marry her off as a child bride so that they could obtain her dowry. Thankfully, she had some extended family members, including the man who took her in (who she calls her grandfather), who made small gestures to support her, such as hiding her overnight or agreeing to put it off for 1 year or 6 months at a time. Really, it was Nice who fought back and saved herself, but had she not had these family members on her side escaping would have likely been completely impossible. But Nice was a fighter and she managed to escape many other dangerous situations including multiple potential rape/sexual assault incidences, complete her education and receive training to help teach her community about the dangers of FGM and other unsafe practices. By taking the strategy of building competency of community members rather than imposing Western practices on the Kenyan people, organizations like Amref (the aid organization she worked with) made great strides towards creating lasting change in community practices and beliefs.

If there is one thing I take away from this book, it is the reminder that cultural change needs to come from within a culture, not an external force. Support and education are a huge piece of the puzzle, but change cannot be forced, it needs to be something that a community can be on board with otherwise it wont be sustainable and is a waste of valuable time and resources, while also (at times) leaving dangerous situations to continue indefinitely.

My love of and bachelors degree in Cultural Anthropology was definitely a huge part of why I thoroughly enjoyed this book, but I think that anyone can benefit from reading Nice's story and learning about FGM and other challenges people in Kenya face. Any opportunity to hear someone's story and learn about their personal context is an opportunity to grow personally, and in many cases, professionally. Beyond that, Nice is a great story teller and the book is interesting, heart-wrenching and incredibly thought-provoking. I would highly recommend it! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Little Brown and Company, for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book!

Thank you to Little, Brown and Company and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I'm always interested in reading about different countries and their cultures. Th Girls in the Wild Fig Tree is a very engaging read about the Maasai tribe and their history of female genital mutilation. A ritual that seems to be one that is used to oppress women.
The author, Nice Leng'ete, grew up in a tribe that practiced this ritual. We follow her life as she grows up and her passion to help end this painful and often fatal practice and change it to a alternative rite of passage that is positive and values life and education instead of child marriage and oppression.
Wonderfully written book that I enjoyed and will be sure to recommend as a must read book.

Absolutely loved this book! especially since I have had the privilege to go to Kenya and meet the Maasai. Loved to. see a strong woman decide to take a different approach to traditions.

Thank you Netgalley and Little Brown for the gifted book!

"The roughly two hundred million women worldwide who have had some form of FGM have suffered differently, and their people have cut them for different reasons. But all forms of FGM have one thing in common: they limit and control women's lives."

What an eye opening read. Nice is a woman who grew up in the Maasai tribe in Kenya where "the cut" (more accurately called female genital mutilation) is a cultural practice and expected of all girls if they want to become women. From a young age, Nice did not want to get "the cut" but the circumstances of her life and culture did not make avoiding it easy.

Her sister Soila submitted to "the cut" to help Nice avoid it, and their lives diverged at that point. Nice realized that FGM isn't just a physical marker, but a mental one as well. It tells girls their value in the culture.

Nice began working with Amref (a NGO) to go back to her village and tell her people what opportunities are available to intact women. She was able to bring an end to FGM in her village and continues to fight to end FGM around the world.

This read is powerful and heartbreaking as it makes you consider the women around the world who are in systems that don't lead to their flourishing, but rather their oppression. Understanding the cultural context is so important here to have compassion and also to incite change.

Content Warning: There are several detailed descriptions of the process of female genital mutilation. Be warned if you are a sensitive reader, that these real life horrors are even hard to read.