Ishmael Beah- A Memoir

Seeing Ishmael Beah speak on Tuesday night was the first author I had ever had the chance to listen speak about their book and about his experiences. One of the big things I learned from his speech was that he has such a strong emphasis on education and staying in school. Ishmael only attended two years of high school but was able to go to college and write a book about his experience in the war. The fact that he was able to accomplish that in itself was amazing. He wanted people to learn from his book which was his purpose for writing it. His speech showed me that things that we think are so bad in our daily lives aren't that bad. It could be way worse, you could be a child soldier. I'm amazed that he is able to speak so comfortably about his traumatic past in front of many audiences. It's astonishing that he is no longer bitter toward the government and is able to forgive them. Ishmael, from my point of view, is an amazing man and what he has accomplished since being in the war is awesome. I love that he wants to do go for the world and the people of Sierra Leone. Go Ishmael!