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

The dust is rustling; I am furiously digging through book after book, searching for the perfect one to read. This thrift store has thousands of books, but none of which I want to read. I’m in a hurry, so frantically I pull a random book from the nonfiction shelf. I glance at the title as I’m heading towards the cash register. A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah, hmmm….. It sounds interesting enough. Once I’m home I start reading slowly, proof reading to see if I’ll like it. With every sentence, I got more enthralled with the story.

Ishmael’s story begins by flashing to the past when he once lived in a small village named Mogbwemo, where he recounts his old life with his friends and family. Everyone knew about the rebels and the ongoing wars in his country, but he never knew how close it actually was, until the day he saw it for the first time.

He was going to a talent show with his brother, Junior, and a couple of friends. They said goodbye to their parents and began their treacherous 6 mile walk. When they got there they were ecstatic, but no one would prepare them for what they were about to witness. The rebels attacked the village and savagely murdered everyone in sight having no mercy for them.” Even though I’m still alive, I feel like each time I accept death, part of me dies.” –Ishmael Beah. The way he described it made me want to cry, I could feel his pain through the powerful words he used. Luckily he, his brother, and his friends made it out alive, but getting separated in the process. Ishmael managed to escape to another village which was controlled by the army. There in exchange for food and protection he was forced into being a child soldier. He was brainwashed to eat, snort cocaine, sleep, and kill. By the age of thirteen he had experienced things most people don’t experience in a lifetime. Fortunately UNICEF took him out of the war and helped him forgive himself and be loved once again.

Ishmael did a beautiful job at describing the situations he was in, and shed light to a grave problem still going on in many countries to this day. I could feel every single emotion, from sadness and loss to renewal and forgiveness that drove him to write this book. I even found myself sniffling a couple of times when I tried to imagine it. This is definitely a life changing book, and I would strongly encourage you to read it. Trust me, it’s worth it!