A Long Way Gone: Memoirs Of A Boy Soldier

Ishmael Beah was born on November 23, 1980, in Mogbwemo, Sierra Leone. In his critically acclaimed memoir, “A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier”, Beah bases his survival from abduction and terrorism on his recollections as an unwilling child soldier for the Sierra Leone Armed Services during Sierra Leone's 1991-2002 civil war. They were fighting the Revolutionary United Front or RUF, also known as the rebels. Ishmael describes his circumstances in simple to understand language. He is also quite deliberate in describing what he’s thinking, how he feels, and what he sees. This book is a must read for every person on the planet. It seeks to inform the reading public about the damages of war.
The main characters in his memoirs are Ishmael Beah who is the chronicler of this factual story; there’s Junior Beah, Ishmael's older brother by one year, their friend Talloi; and Ishmael’s best friend Mohamed. Then there’s Musa, one of Ishmael's friends from his village. Kanei, another of Ishmael's friends from his village; Gibrilla, Kaloka, and Khalilou, mutual friends of Junior and Ishmael; Mambu, a child soldier in the same rehabilitation center as Ishmael; Gasemu, a banana farmer from Ishmael's village; Leslie, Ishmael's case worker at the rehabilitation center. The Lieutenant, a father figure in the Sierra Leone Armed Services; Esther, Ishmael's nurse at
Ishmael, Junior, and Talloi manage to escape the village without being shadowed by the rebels. They made the decision to head back to their village to find their families before it too late. Junior, Talloi, and Ishmael jumped into a canoe to cross the river and make it back to Mogbwemo. No scene from Rambo: First Blood or any other movie could prepare the boys for what they were about to experience. The carnage made Ishmael’s veins tightened. The boys walked six miles to Ishmael’s grandmother’s