A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier
Ishmael Beah
226 pages

First sentence:  My high school friends have begun to suspect I haven't told them the full story of my life.

Reflections: Ishmael Beah's account of his years spent as a boy soldier in war-torn Sierra Leone is an important work highlighting the human impact of the seemingly endless conflict in our world.  At the age of 12, Ishmael lost his entire family and was left with a band of friends who were ultimately conscripted.  The fact that he lived to write a book about his experience is in and of itself remarkable; in some ways knowing this makes it easier to read this book than Beasts of No Nation, a fictional account on a similar topic (my review).

Beah delivers his story in a matter of fact way, as one who after many years has come to terms with his experience.  While he describes horrific raids, battles, and loss of life, it is from a distance.  The emotional scars become evident once he has been taken by UNICEF to a rehabilitation center, and struggles with human contact, relationships, and losing those who are close to him.

Fortunately for Beah, he was recognized as a leader and selected for speaking engagements, which eventually took him to a UN conference in New York.  He completed his high school education in New York, attended university in the United States, and has made the US his home.  He considers his family to be those who have helped and supported him in his new life.  His is a remarkable story but a unique one.  Would that all boy soldiers could recover and prosper.

20 / 50 (40.0%)

7,452 / 15,000 (49.7%)