Admittedly, I haven’t been reading very much as of late. I spend a lot of time playing guitar hero, watching movies and sleeping. But for christmas my mom got me the book A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah. …I started to read it and didn’t put it down for hours at a time. My eyes would get heavy, but I wouldn’t let myself sleep.

Ishmael, now 26 and living in New York City, was a child soldier at the age of 13. The book is his memoir following him from his first year in the war running across Sierra Leone up to his rehabilitation in Free Town. It’s heart breaking to see his transformation from a small innocent child into someone that can’t show or take any affection. Even after his time in rehab his reluctance for love and caring is apparent.

I highly recommend reading the book, it really puts things into perspective. I recently quit Future Shop and had been really queasy about the whole situation and uneasy until I read the book and saw how little these problems are, and how worse it really could be. I am thankful that the biggest problem in my life right now is debt.

Ishmael not only lost every member of his family, but also committed multiple acts of violence that are completely unimaginable and will haunt him for the rest of his life. It’s scary to think there are over 300 000 boys in his situation, not just him. The war through the eyes of a child is so unexplained and terrifying.

Check out George’s interview with Ishmael, it’s moving.