![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Without storytellers like Ishmael, we cannot hope to understand the lives of others. It is a story of understanding, a story that highlights the importance of storytelling. Then, as his choices get made for him, Ishmael’s talented writing allows the reader to see what life is like for a young boy being turned into a killer. As he runs from the violence, a child of only twelve, the reader chooses with him as he decides where to go. He writes with incredible care, drawing the reader not only into the external conflicts of the war he was part of, but into the internal conflicts going through his mind. Ishmael balances well the facts of what happened with the emotion of how he dealt with it, all the while weaving the events into a single, coherent story. To turn a life such as this into a story is not an easy task. His memories – it is clear from the book – are painful, his nightmares vivid. His childhood was one of joy turned to violence. The Importance of Storytellingīefore jumping into the contents of the story, it is probably best to start by saying that Ishmael Beah is an incredible storyteller. Over 300,000 children living a life not dissimilar to Ishmael’s. And yet, at the time of the book’s release, there were estimated over 300,000 child soldiers. It is a story that so many of us are unfamiliar with, that so many of us will never learn about without books such as this. ![]() A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier is a heart-wrenching true story about the author’s (Ishmael Beah) experience as a child soldier. ![]()
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