A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah Book Review

As much as people try to escape reality, reality will always come to them but in a way they never imagined it to happen. A Long Way Gone is a memoir, written by Ishmael Beah, following Ishmael in his undicevive acts, where he was displaced from his home and was given an unfair choice; become a boy soldier or die. Ishmael grew up living in Sierra Leone during the 1990s, when he was 12 years old his village was attacked on his way to a rapping performance with his friends. Running away from the war caused Ishmael to lose contact with his family and unwillingly became a soldier boy along with others in order to survive. Because of the traumas he faced, he was sent to a rehabilitation center where he was rehabilitated and was invited to New York to speak about children being part of war, there he meets Laura Simms who is a storyteller and later becomes his foster mother. Throughout his journey, having a sense of faith and hope helped Ishmael Beah remain alive, want to see his family, and stop children from becoming victims of war. 

To begin with, we see how Ishmael has the motivation to keep on trying when it comes to escaping the war. When Ishmael was looking for a safe place to stay he mentions that he wanted to give up because of the challenges he was facing. But decided not to since he was reminded by the words his father had told him before, Ishmael states, ¨When I was very little, my father used to say, ¨If you are alive, there is hope for a better day and something good to happen. If there is nothing good left in the destiny of a person, he or she will die¨ (54). This reveals that his fathers words are a constant reminder that he is alive because something better is coming his way soon which is giving him hope to try to fight back and try to stay alive. As kids, many of us give up on receiving what we desired because it would never come to us, seeing how Ishmael keeps on trying is obvious that he has faith and hope for something better.

To continue, Ishmael is aware that if he is optimistic then he'll be able to find his family.  After Ishmael and his friend met Gasemu, he let Ishmael know that his family was alive and were looking for him. When Gasemu lets them know that they were in a nearby village Ishmael expresses, ¨My eyelids were twitching, and I felt as if the breeze was passing through my brain. It made me feel light headed. Excitement and sadness made me feel as if my heart would explode if I waited any longer…¨ (93). Hearing this news makes Ishmael want to try more at getting to his parents faster since he knows his family is alive. Because knew his parents were close and alive he finally had something to look forward to. When children are in a position where they are lost or miss their parents they will do anything to find them, they will not give up and have a positive mindset that they will find them and that's what Ishmael did.

Towards the end of the novel, faith and hope is being demonstrated after Ishmael brainstorms possible solutions in stopping kids becoming victims of war. Ishmael along with other kids were having a meeting where they were discussing the problems that each person was facing. As they were discussing the solutions for each person, Ishmael expresses, ¨It seemed we were transforming our suffering as we talked about ways to solve their causes and let them be known to the world” (198). Ishmael has confidence in recovering from all the trauma he suffered when fighting in the war. He believes that using the traumas as great resources will help other soldier children stop from being affected. Doing this he will be able to 

In Ishmael Beah's book, titled A Long Way Gone, the narrator Ishmael had to make an unfair decision between becoming a soldier boy or dying, after forcibly needing to leave his hometown due a war. Throughout the story we perceive how Ishmael used his determination to stay alive, find his family, and come up with solutions to help children from being affected by wars. Sometimes in life things our wings will be broken but when we find something that will heal us we will finally be able to fly.