The release date for the English version of 'A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier' by
Ishmael Beah is Feb 2007. If you enjoy this novel, it is available for buy as a paperback from Barnes & Noble or Indigo, as an ebook on the Amazon Kindle store, or as an audiobook on Audible.
The heartbreaking tale of battle as told by a young soldier in combat. Beah describes how, at the age of twelve, he ran away from rebels he was assaulting and roamed throughout a violently destroyed area. He was drafted into the government army at the age of thirteen.
My new pals are starting to think that I may not have given them the whole truth about who I am.
"What made you depart from Sierra Leone?"
"Because a war is raging."
"You mean you witnessed individuals shooting each other while scurrying around with guns?"
"Yes, every time."
“Nice.”
I give a little grin.
"You ought to discuss it with us at some point."
"Yes, on occasion."
These days, youngsters who are high on drugs and armed with AK-47s fight conflicts. Kids are now the preferred troops. An estimated 300,000 children are being used as child soldiers in the more than fifty wars that are now raging throughout the globe. One of them used to be Ishmael Beah.
What does a kid soldier see when they see war? What makes a person a killer? How can one come to an end? Journalists have documented child soldiers, and authors have found it difficult to envision their experiences. However, there hasn't been a first-hand narrative from someone who survived this nightmare up until now.
Beah, who is now 25 years old, relates a gripping tale in A Long Way Gone about how, when he was twelve, he ran away from rebels and traversed a violently destroyed region. When Beah, a kind lad at heart, was thirteen, the government army snatched him up and discovered that he was capable of very horrible things.
This is a unique and captivating story, presented with devastating honesty and genuine literary power.