Nomad Girl

Nomad Girl by Niema Ash is her memoir of life in the fast lane of the swinging sixties and toward more recent times.

A childhood dream of Canadian-born Niema was to travel the world as a genuine child of the sixties, this is exactly what she did.

During her travels round the world, basically from Montreal to Morocco and all points between, she met and became friends with people such as Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, bluesman John Lee Hooker and the Dalai Lama and had a whole host of adventures some planned but many not.

Whilst traveling across Africa (by hitchhiking) she and her partner Shimon realised that they were expecting a baby, so they returned to her home city of Montreal where they opened The Finjan, a folk and blues club that also served as a coffee house.

And then the adventures really began. There was motherhood, she gave birth to her daughter Ronit. Life with her new family, Shimon, Ronit and herself. But there was something else, something more that Niema needed.

The book is filled with characters that you will already have heard of, Diana Dors and The Bee Gees to name only two, but you'll also learn about characters that probably won't be known to you, such as Pistol Pete, Sonny and Brownie, and many more besides.

Niema introduces you to family, friends and lovers in this enthralling and honest account.

It makes for a remarkable read, although I can't help feeling that the absence of any photographs (save for two modern images on the front a and back covers) is a regrettable one.

The book is published by Matador at £13.99.