Described as a `Modern Day Saint`, Donya - Al Nahi, originally a British woman, later married to a Muslim, she also embraced Islam after marriage. Separated from her first husband after the birth of her first son, she later married to an Iraqi, Mahmond and had three children from that marriage. Since the book, "Heroine of the Desert` is a true story, an account of Donya`s mission to capture children separated from their mothers by deceit, and taken away to the middle East countries by their fathers, it is even more thrilling than any fiction. Donya - Al Nahi got involved in the series of these challenging, risky and dare-devil escapades to unite the children with their forelorn mothers, when she first met a women at Queensway in London. She succeeded in most of the missions with exception of one or two cases; she had to also go through some hair-raising experiences of imprisonment, hot car-chases, and even threats to her life. Thought intially she kept her true identify a secret, finally she became a known figure due to the newspaper publicity as well as T. V. channels. So she decided to detach from these missions directly, to protect her family from any threats or harm caused by the fathers of abducted children. Channel four of British Television made a documentary on her; Donya decided to write a book on her heroic missions and assisted by Andrew Crofts, an accomplished ghost writer, wrote her debut book, `Heroine of the Desert.` The book is a true and sincere account of her turbulent life, some of the mistakes that she unabashedly confesses to, and a thrilling narration of the unpredictable events, It`s heartwarming to read about her love for the children, including her own.
‘‘मेरीने लैलाला उचलून घेतलं आणि त्या दोघी एकमेकींच्या आलिंगनात जणू काही अनंतकाळपर्यंत विसावल्यासारख्या भासल्या....’’ मेरीला तातडीने कृती केली पाहिजे, याचं भान आलं.... लैलाचं मुटकुळं घट्ट धरून ती टॅक्सीकडे आली.... दरवाज्यापर्यंत पोहचताच मी आत उडी घेतली; ड्रायव्हरला ओरडून सांगत, ‘चल, निघ.’ ‘शेकडो ब्रिटिश स्त्रियांसाठी डोन्या-अल् नहि ही एक दयेची मूर्तिमंत देवदूतच आहे....’ ‘विश्वास बसणार नाही एवढ्या धैर्यवान अशा या डोन्याच्या आयुष्याचं इतिकर्तव्य म्हणजे मुलांच्या विरहाने दु:खी झालेल्या स्त्रियांचं त्यांच्या मुलांशी पुनर्मीलन घडवून आणणं... आणि तेही ठार मारण्याच्या धमक्यांना आणि तुरुंगात टाकलं जाण्याच्या संकटांना तोंड देत....’ ‘हृदयाचा ठोका चुकवणा-या धाडसी मोहिमा म्हणून डोन्याच्या गोष्टी जेवढ्या परिणामकारक आहेत, तेवढ्याच सांस्कृतिक भिन्नता असलेल्या लोकांनी विवाहबद्ध झाल्यावर काय चुकत जातं, त्याचंही त्या परिणामकारक चित्रण करतात....’