A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah is a powerful book that I consider a must read for anyone interested in what is going on outside of their small, safe world. Ishmael Beah describes how he, as a boy of 13 years of age, could participate as a boy soldier, committing hideous acts upon civilians as he was forced into labor in the army of Sierra Leone. He talks of how starvation, drugs, violent videos, and planting a desire to avenge the deaths of their families were used to induce children to act in unnatural ways.