I could not have written this book without the tireless support, prayers, and encouragement of my family: my mother, Madinah Ibrahim Moalim; my father, Nur Iftin; my brother, Hassan Nor Iftin; and my sister, Nima Nor Iftin, have all shared stories from my childhood and their own. While these stories were already a part of my life, my parents and siblings filled in countless details important to researching the book over many hours of phone conversations between Maine, Kenya, and Somalia. Often these stories were painful for them to recall, and I applaud their bravery in revisiting ugly memories. While shocking to Westerners, my family’s continuing struggle to survive will be sadly familiar to millions of other Somalis—to those like me, who got out, and to those like my family, who remain behind.
I also want to graciously thank the team that came to my rescue when I was living in Mogadishu as a young man hunted by radical Islamists and other armed factions: Paul Salopek, Cori Princell, Dick Gordon, Ben Bellows, and Sharon McDonnell and her family made a dream team that set up a fund to support my family and my journey out of Somalia to Kenya and finally to the United States.
In Nairobi, special thanks to Pamela Gordon, who took risks to help me, and to my friends Yonis and Farah, for standing with me together and texting each other when we became prey for the police.
I am grateful to have a wonderful literary agent, Zoë Pagnamenta, who mentored this book and my writing so diligently, and the fantastic team at Knopf, including Andrew Miller, Zakiya Harris, and Bette Alexander. Thanks to Max Alexander for the passion and guidance he brought to this book. I am lucky to live in the same state as Max, and the work we did together on this book was remarkable. Thank you, Max, for being such a good and supportive friend.
Very special thanks to Sharon McDonnell and her husband, Gib Parrish, for their generosity in allowing me to become a member of their family and to write this book in their house in Yarmouth, Maine. I would not have been able to complete it without their moral and material support. Thanks to Becky Steele and her husband, Douglas McCown, for standing up for me and other Maine Somalis after candidate Trump implied that we were criminals. Thanks to Kirk and Camille, who volunteered their time and ideas.
Finally, thanks to Nicole Bellows, Margaret Caudill, Leo Hornak, and the BBC, This American Life and Ira Glass for following and documenting my story in Kenya and America. I also want to thank Elizabeth Harvey, Yussuf, Abdul, Mohamed, Awil, Jihan, Hannah Read, Maya Tepler, Gil Morino, Meg, Rick, Nene Riley, Shannon Sayer, and Natalya and Morgan McDonnell.