A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier is a true story of the life of a 12 year old boy, Ishmael Beah, during the Civil war in Sierra Leone in the 1990's. Ishmael comes home from a journey to find that his village is under attack by the RUF (Revolutionary Unit Front) or rebels and flees to find safety with his older brother and other children his age. After a year or so of traveling around, scrounging for food and water, and looking for a place to go, he finds out that his whole family has been slaughtered by the RUF. Ishmael and his friends are soon after recruited by the Sierra Leone Army and forced to become soldiers. The boys are brainwashed and forced to become brutal killers in the name of the government even carrying out scouting expeditions and capital executions of rebel prisoners. After a few years in the army, some of the boys, including Ishmael are rescued by UNICEF and taken to a rehabilitation center to try and learn to be boys again. Eventually, Ishmael is rehabilitated and travels to America to give interviews and speeches on his experiences during the war.
This book intrigued me and infuriated me all the same time. It's hard to imagine the life of child in such a way as Ishmael had lived his. The hardships even before the war much less after his family was killed and he became a boy soldier. Also astounding is the fact that he went on to live a successful life after such atrocities and to work for the cause of the betterment of children everywhere. It just proves that people can change even in the face of adversity. When he first became a soldier, he was the same age as my son is now. I read this book really quickly and highly recommend it.
A Long Way Gone was nominated for a Quill Award in the Best Debut Author category for 2006 and was published by Sarah Crichton books in 2007.
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