Thursday, August 02, 2007

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

Powerful text, written extremely well, very graphic and hard to fathom some of the occurrences he was forced to endure. It ended too abruptly for me, but I am hoping that means a follow-up as to where he is now. The text is not all war though. We get a glimpse into life in Sierra Leon, his childhood, and journey that led him into soldierhood. His "rehabilitation" and subsequent trials following his relocation conclude the text, but as I said, it ended too quickly. It was amazing to read that he was 12 and shooting people, all the while I was finishing off my quaint high school experience--which I just thought was the whole world at the time. This book really put a great deal into perspective for me, including how very lucky I am.