Fire and Ashes, A Boy and an African Proverb is the debut story in a series of children's picture books that brings the relevance of African proverbs to our modern world. Warfa, a Somalian refugee, struggles to adapt to his new elementary school. Haunted by distressing memories, he turns to his grandmother and her sage African proverb:

Ninna dab buu ka baqaa, ninna dambaas buu ka baqaa.

One man fears fire, another man fears ashes