A Long Way Gone

A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah

This book is Ishmael Beah's memoir of his childhood days as a boy soldier in Sierra Leone. It is a really good, and sad book. I think his journey is quite amazing. I can absolutely not imagine having to do the things he did when he was only 13 years old. He says in the book that he has killed so many people that he can't even remember how many. Many of the young boys were and are taken into the army of the RUF and fight at incredibly young ages, even younger than Beah, maybe 10 or 11. Then they are trained and given guns, and alot of drugs, and they go and kill so many people! Anyway, an amazing story. But what seems to be most amazing about his story is the manner in which he managed to move on. He was eventually saved from fighting by UNICEF, and then rehabilitated. Then he went to New York and went to Oberlin College. He is still young, I think in his late 20's. Well he is now an activist against child soldiers and I think works with the UN. A really good book!