A Long Way Gone

About

When Ishmael Beah was just twelve years old, he had to escape from rebels who were attacking Sierra Leone. He wandered through a land that had been destroyed by violence. At the age of thirteen, he was taken in by the government army and discovered that he was capable of committing terrible acts, despite his gentle nature. When he was sixteen, UNICEF intervened and removed him from the fighting. At a rehabilitation center, with the help of the staff, he learned to forgive himself, regain his humanity, and eventually heal. Beah's account of his experiences is both powerful and honest, written with great literary skill.