As described on the SU website (http://provost.syr.edu/provost/Units/academicprograms/sharedreading/index.aspx):

"In the book, a story of redemption and hope, Beah chronicles his life during the early and mid-1990s, as civil war ravaged his homeland, the West African nation of Sierra Leone. At age 12, Beah fled attacking rebels and wandered a land rendered unrecognizable by violence. By age 13, he’d been picked up by the government army and made into a boy soldier. A gentle boy at heart, Beah found that he was capable of truly terrible acts. Eventually released by the army and sent to a UNICEF rehabilitation center, Beah struggled to regain his humanity and to re-enter the world of civilians."

This is not a book for the faint-hearted, but the story speaks to challenges faced today in many parts of the world.  It is a memoir that will not leave you untouched.

Jim Engle, our College Preparation English professor, will lead a discussion in February about this book (date TBD).  If you would like to participate in what will surely be an intense discussion, please see Grace Lai, our librarian, to borrow a copy of the book.  And please check back here where we will post the date for the book discussion.