Part 1 - Chapter 1 and 2 Summary and Analysis

In chapter one, "Bloodlines" Hirsi Ali introduces the beginning of her life, recalling living with her grandmother who saw it very important that she memorize her bloodline. Tribal alliances and family clans were what kept you safe in Somalia and knowing who she came from was vital.

Her grandmother tells her brother, sister, and her stories from time to time to try to make them understand life and how to survive. Her mother also shares about her life growing up and being taught survival skills before moving away to live in Saudi Arabia to make it on her own. Eventually, her grandfather met her and told her there was a request for marriage and she accepted this, as was custom. Her mother moves to Kuwait and became a "baarri" or dutiful wife to her husband...