Malidoma Patrice Somé (1956–2021) was a Burkinabé writer and workshop leader who focused his career primarily on the field of spirituality. Born in Dano, Burkina Faso, within a traditional Dagara community, his early life underwent a major transition when, at the age of four, he was taken to be raised by Jesuit priests. This upbringing under the care of Christian missionaries deeply influenced his early years and marked the beginning of his lifelong relationship with Western education and culture.\n\nFollowing this foundational period, Somé traveled out of West Africa to pursue higher education in the West. He eventually relocated permanently, spending the vast majority of his adult life living and working across the United States and Europe. Throughout his later years, he was active as an author and led numerous workshops, utilizing his unique personal history and background to address spiritual themes for Western audiences.
