Review by serendipitysbooks - A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier

serendipitysbooks 's review for:

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

4.0

challenging dark informative reflective medium-paced

A Long Way Gone was a harrowing and haunting read as you might expect given the subject matter. It is a memoir of Beah’s time as a child soldier during Sierra Leone’s civil war. Fleeing the rebels that killed his family he wandered the countryside, sometimes alone and sometimes with a small group, seeking food, shelter and survival. At age 13 he was taken in by an army unit. By supplying him with drugs, training him in gun use, brainwashing him and threatening him with death they taught him to kill and required him to do so. He spent the next three years doing just that and it seemed the drugs enabled him to do so with no feeling whatsoever. At age 16 the United Nations arranged for his release and sent him to a rehabilitation unit. It was during his time there, and no longer having ready access to drugs and suffering withdrawal symptoms, that the horrors of the acts he witnessed and was forced to commit, became very all too obvious, taking a major toll on his health.

This was not an easy read and there are many acts of unspeakable violence recounted in graphic but dispassionate detail. But it is an important read. Sadly Beah’s journey from a mischievous, rap-loving Shakespeare quoting child to a drug-fuelled trained killer is not unique. Thankfully his story ended well, but there are many other children still in his predicament. Reading this book not only reminds us of the plight of child soldiers but also highlights the crucial work done patient, skilled and compassionate people working to free and rehabilitate them.

Content Warnings