Named after the village medicine woman, Halima grew up in a remote desert region in Sudan. Her father was successful and he sent her away to school and university. At 24 she returned to her Zaghawa tribe as their first-ever doctor. In January 2004 the militias attacked and raped 42 schoolgirls. Halima treated the traumatised victims, some as young as eight. Horrified by the incidents, Halima spoke about the atrocities to a Sudanese newspaper and to UN charities. When her father was killed and her village destroyed, she set out on an arduous journey to escape Darfur. She sought asylum in England where she cut through the statistics and gave a human face and a survivor’s view to the genocide in Sudan.

Tears of the Desert is more than just a memoir. This is a painful, brave and beautifully-told story of hope and courage in the face one of Africa’s darkest episodes. What’s more, it is a vehement and enormously powerful call to arms against Darfur’s ghastly war crimes. Hodder & Stoughton, RRP $35