Ishmael Beah

Ishmael Beah is a Sierra Leonean author and human rights activist. “A Long Way Gone” explores the author's experiences as a child soldier and his efforts to rebuild his life.

Books by Ishmael Beah

A Long Way Gone

Ishmael Beah

A Long Way Gone follows Ishmael Beah from ordinary childhood in Sierra Leone through displacement, coercive recruitment, drug-fueled combat, rehabilitation, and an uncertain return to civilian life. It asks how war turns children into soldiers—and whether family, care, memory, and public testimony can make another life possible, offering a framework for understanding recruitment, trauma, and recovery.

11 chapters