Book Report On A Long Way Gone By Ishmael Beah

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A Long Way Gone. Ishmael Beah. New York: Sarah Crichton Books, 2007. 229 pages. A Long Way Gone is a memoir written with Ishmael Beah’s memories of the civil war that happened in his hometown, Sierra Leone. Beah’s determination for survival and use of descriptive imagery of the war gives us a chance to feel like we’re actually in the war with him. Ishmael Beah was only a twelve year old boy when the war came to his village. Because he lost his family in the war, Ishmael had to learn how to survive on his own along with some other boys. Together, they took care and watched out for each other in the wilderness while trying to find a safe place to hide from the rebels, the people attacking their country. Beah and his friends came close to death multiple times, but because of the rap cassettes he carries with him, it was able to save them every time they were captured by the villagers. At the age of 12, Baeh was forced to fight in the war, which turned him into a killing machine as the years go by-- he didn’t feel anything; just the madness for the rebels who killed his family. At age 16, Baeh was taken out of the frontlines and moved into a …show more content…

If there is nothing good left in the destiny of a person, he or she will die” (page 54). Even though he faced depression and loneliness in the forest for a month, it was this lesson that motivated him to find a way out and stay alive because he believes that regardless the terrible things that had happen to him, there is still some good left in his destiny as long as he’s alive. Because of the loneliness of isolation from people, Beah was willing to spend everyday protecting himself from wild animals and looking for a way out even when he know that there’s a war happening outside the forest. The idea of isolation was too much for a 12 year old to