Memoirs of a Boy Soldier

I am currently reading the most harrowing book I have ever read.
'A long way gone - memoirs of a boy soldier', by Ishmael Beah.

It is the hardest book I have ever read and yet the most compelling and hardest to put down. It is the autobiography of a man who was a boy soldier in Sierra Leone, later to be saved and rehabilitated by UNICEF. He tells it all first hand.

Deb lent me the book, with strong warnings. As she said it would, I find myself crying as I read, knowing it is a true story. It is a book where you become so absorbed into the storyline that reality goes out of the window! When I put the book down I wander around with my head full of the bloodshed, feeling quite dazed. As I write this I have been reading all morning, I had to go to the shops to buy laundry powder and was completely not with it - my head full of Sierra Leone and then people talking to me in Spanish, in a country not my own! I can't explain the confusion. Rachel (who I lived in Uganda with) is back visiting Kabale, and so I read her emails bringing back my own memories of Uganda and my head gets more muddled!

I am looking forward to finishing the book so that I dont have to go through this anymore! At one point this week Amanda took the book off me as it was confusing me so much and making me sad.

I recommend you all to read this book, it is beautifully written, harrowing yet compelling and helps you keep your priorities in order!

But..it comes with a strong word of warning - it's not easy to read!