One of the questions ask, "if you could meet Ishmael Beah, what questions might you ask him?" The only question that comes to mind is, if you could take it back would you. I know the experiences he has struggled through were tough, but he would have never grown up to become the person he is if he hadn't gone through what he has. I give him the greatest respect for the bumpy road he has walked on. If there was some way he could go back in time and not have to experience it and just live his life like a normal person would he I don't know. Maybe he would maybe he wouldn't. He had lost so much in his time, but he has gained so much more. So my question to him would be, "if you could take it back would you?"

In this Memoir i found that what he went through and how he is still alive today a insperation that even after what he has gone through he still sees the best of life.Also from this book i learned what was going on in Sierra Leone , and how their are a estimated 300,000 child soldiers worldwide.The fact that they found that Ishmael was lying about the dates in the book and that fact that he had any family left, does not change what he went through,and does not tell if he had forgotten what time and day and year it was because of what he had to go through.
I would recomend this book to future seniors because i beliveve that its very informational about what is going on in Sierra Leone, and it helps others learn what has been going on in other countries and maybe they will try to learn more about it. If i were ever meet Ishmael i would probably ask about what he thought about what he went through,and how he was today, i would ask what he was doing to help others that were in the same postion has him, and i would ask him so many other questions, i would be estatic to meet him or anyone that has gone through something like what he went through.

What I found most intriguing about the memoir was that he has the courage to bring back all the memories of the war and write it in a book, where it will all be brought up multiple times and if he has interviews. He has a lot of strength to share all the experience with everyone around the world knowing that it's not all good that happened in his life. What didn’t work for me in the book was that I just felt so bad it was hard for me to read this book without getting teary eyed and just so upset. I would be completely devastated if this had happened to me, my family, my friends, and even people I had always been around. The way he told the story was very effective with all the details. I did learn something new from this book and that was how hard it was for so many people and how bad the war really was.
If I could meet Ishmael Beah and ask him some questions, I would ask him: 1- How has this overall experience affected your life? 2- What is the one thing you could change about your life right now? 3- What was the worst thing that happened to you during the war? 4- What was the worst time that you were in pain either physically or mentally? 5- What has writing this book and having it published done for you?
Considering the possible controversy surrounding some of the dates of the memoir, I believe it still is a very important thing to hear about because everyday people take for granted everything they have and never realize the other things that people are lacking. Also people don’t realize how many people die from basic necessities that we have and they don’t have. By reading this book, I personally have been so thankful that something like that hasn’t happened to me and thankful for everything that I have. I would most definitely recommend this book to future senior or anyone else because like I said, it make you realize how much you have and should be so thankful for while other people have little or even nothing.

What i found the most interesting was how much courage these young kids had during the war. They went through so many scary expierences.I like how the author gave the story so many details that you felt like you were part of the war. I did learn from this book to be thank ful for what i have and not to take it for granite, because there are so many people out there that are struggleing.

I think this is a really interesting book. I think it does a good job spreading awareness about the troubling situation in Africa. The book gets really heavy at times, but I think thats a good thing because it helps demonstrate the fact that HIs life was really messed up. It's hard for me to imagine surviving on my own in an unfamiliar place, especially in such terrorfying situations. I also can't imagine ever looking forward to killing someone. That makes me think about all the brainwashing these kids must have been through. Thats the only way a thirteen year old boy could think killing other people is a good thing to do. I think this is a sad but true example of how cruel human kind can be. It's also an example of how impressionable and vulnerable a young persons mind can be in a traumatic situation.

Well reading the flaw article, the Australian news had stated that Beah had lied about the dates while telling his story, I don't think they should have reacted the way they did about the dates being wrong, maybe he did it on purpose maybe he didn't. This was a very interesting book. There were some parts that were just unbelievable. Like, after they got kidnapped heading back to their home town, the rebels lined them up but had noticed an old man trying to escape. They got him and abused and harrassed him till he could no longer stand. Then they threatend to kill all of them near the river, but thanks to the gun fire from across the river they escaped. Or another part that was scarey was in the first reading section, they were all running into the woods after being fired at, one of them got shot and fell down, the others watched in fright, they wanted to help him but wre afraid of losing there own life. A grenade was thrown and he blew up and his blood and guts went eveywhere. That was a very graphic scene. All in all, a good book. He had enough courage to relive his life and write it down.

After finishing "A long way gone" I feel glad that I read it. It definitely was not the most heart warming book I ever read, but it made me think of the opportunities I have and feelings I will never feel like Ishmael has. This book was filled with action and never really had a dull moment in it. It made the book most intriguing knowing it was based on true events. If I were to meet up with Ishamel I would ask him...1-How are you doing now? 2- Is there any positive things that you got out of the war and your childhood? 3- Did you lie about the dates you stated happened in the book? 4- If so, why lie about it? I would recommend this book to future seniors. It is a good reality check on how much we take for granted and what we should be thankful for.

Even though there is some controversy about the book and dates that didn't occur I believe it still is a good book to read. There obviously is some true events that happened and you can't take away some of the experiences Ishamel went through. This is a good book to read and I'm glad I read it.