Memoirs+of+a+Boy+Soldier

A gripping story of a child’s journey through hell and back.

There may be as many as 300,000 child soldiers, hopped-up on drugs and wielding AK-47s, in more than fifty conflicts around the world. Ishmael Beah used to be one of them. He is one of the first to tell his story in his own words.

In //A Long Way Gone//, Beah, now twenty-six years old, tells a riveting story. At the age of twelve, he fled attacking rebels and wandered a land rendered unrecognizable by violence. By thirteen, he’d been picked up by the government army, and Beah, at heart a gentle boy, found that he was capable of truly terrible acts. Eventually released by the army and sent to a UNICEF rehabilitation center, he struggled to regain his humanity and to reenter the world of civilians, who viewed him with fear and suspicion. This is, at last, a story of redemption and hope. (From Alongwaygone.com)




 * Student Reviews:**

"This memoir details the gut-wrenching journey of an innocent boy who is enlisted as a child soldier in the Sierra Leone civil war. It explores the great depravity which we are all capable of, but also offers the reader consolation that redemption is never out of reach. The brutality of this book is shocking and readers should be aware of that, but such brutality is essential in understanding the lengths to which humans will go before the light at the end can be seen. Read this book!" ~Billy Engelman (GCHS senior, 2014)

"This book is part of the University of Kentucky's Common Reading Experience for freshmen students. Once one reads it, he or she will have a completely new perspective on the value of life and innocence. The author, Ishmael Beah, details his encounter with war by becoming a child soldier for the Sierra Leone government. Ishmael's use of chilling diction and devastating conflict prove that youth and innocence are two of the most treasured aspects of life. This memoir contains gruesome violence with several scenes of murder and destruction. It definitely is a tear-jerker that will leave the reader with a newfound appreciation of life." ~Kendall Burk (GCHS senior, 2014)