A gripping story of achild’s journey through hell and back.
There may be as many as 300,000 child soldiers, hopped-up on drugs and wielding AK-47s, in more than fifty conflicts around the world. Ishmael Beah used to be one of them. He is one of the first to tell his story in his own words.
In A LONG WAY GONE, Beah, now twenty-six years old, tells a riveting story. At the age of twelve, he fled attacking rebels and wandered a land rendered unrecognizable by violence. By thirteen, he’d been picked up by the government army, and Beah, at heart a gentle boy, found that he was capable of truly terrible acts. Eventually released by the army and sent to a UNICEF rehabilitation center, he struggled to regain his humanity and to reenter the world of civilians, who viewed him with fear and suspicion. This is, at last, a story of redemption and hope.
Deeply moving, even uplifting ... Beah's story, with its clear-eyed reporting and literate particularity—whether he's dancing to rap, eating a coconut or running toward the burning village where his family is trapped—demands to be read.
— People
Although this book was hard to read at times, I think most of us would agree with People's review--It certainly does demand to be read.
Listen to Ismael read an excerpt from the book.
If you want to know more you can visit the website HERE.
If you work in a school, May is a busy stressful month. There are grades, report cards, end of the year reports, and end of the year activities. It is for this reason, I think, that we had a small group for book club.
It is also for this reason that alcohol was on the menu! This ISN'T normal for us!
Karen has a point to make as Jan and Nancy pay close attention!
Phyllis makes a toast--to Ismael's successful rehabilitation? Or perhaps to
the end of the school year?
I think we would all agree that book club serves two purposes--discussions of good books and stress relief. We have great discussions on other topics and more importantly we LAUGH! It is good for the soul! Don't you agree?
