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

A long way gone is a memoir written by Ishmael Beah, who grew up in Sierra Leone during their civil war. The Revolutionary United Front (RUF), a rebel army that fought for 11 years in Sierra Leone, would raid villages, burn down people's homes, rape women and kill the villagers. Ishmael ran from these soldiers in order to stay alive and prevent being recruited as a child soldier. He spent time living in the forest, and traveling to different towns before he was finally recruited as a child soldier. In this book, he shares about his experiences as a soldier when he was 13-15 years old, and then his rehabilitation back into civilian life.

I was very moved by this book, and the authors descriptions of the horrific events that happened in Sierra Leone in the 1990's. He told his story truthfully and vividly, and I feel that it is a story that needed to be told, since I personally had not known about the events in Sierra Leone previous to reading the book. It astounds me that such devastation could still happen in the world today. It was hard to read at times, but you empathize that the author has been through, and hope for the future.

Overall, this book was fascinating. It kept me interested and intrigued, and showed me a part of the world that most people rarely see. If you are interested in learning more about the situation that happened in Sierra Leone or just would like to read an account on a child soldier, I recommend this book.

Oh, and on a personal note, I own a lot of these books that I am going to be reading, so if any of my friends are reading this and want to borrow any of these books to read, just let me know! Even if you don't live close by, I can mail them. Thanks for reading!