On Tuesday, March 13th from 2PM-4PM (ET) Ishmael Beah will be in the Starbucks Book Break group for a real-time exchange with Gather Members.
To join the chat, just login to your Gather account and visit the Starbucks Book Break group or the Gather homepage at the time of the Live Chat.
For those of you who won't be able to make it to the chat next Tuesday, you can still participate! Post your comments and questions in the Comments section below, and, time permitting, our chat moderator will pass them along to Ishmael.
Read an article on Gather by Ishmael:
"Why I Wrote My Memoir, A Long Way Gone"
About the Author
Ishmael Beah was born in Sierra Leone in 1980. He moved to the United States in 1998 and finished his last two years of high school at the United Nations International School, New York. In 2004 he graduated from Oberlin College with a B.A. in Political Science. He is a member of Human Rights Watch Children’s Division Advisory Committee and has spoken before the United Nations, The Council on Foreign Relations, and the Center for Emerging Threats and Opportunities (CETO) at the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory. His work has appeared in Vespertine Press and LIT Magazine. He lives in New York City.
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Comments: 14
I realize this is a complex question, but I am interested in your response.
Such an incredible story, Ishmael.
Can you give us a direct contact-someone who can advise us? Thank you, Soni and Sons :)
Thank you for writing your memoirs and sharing this tragic testament to the life of a child caught in war. I can't imagine how you handled the shock, loss and atrocities you were faced with at such a young age. I have a son who is now in college and when I look at pictures of him at age 11-15 he looks like such a young child to me, as you were during your war years. I am so thankful you have lived to tell your story and that you were able to start a new life with your uncle and again with Laura. My question to you is what happened to Esther? She was a loving support for you when you needed her. I hope she is safe and I am sure she is so very proud of you.
I've read your memoir and I want to say that I believe that your story is important for people to become aquainted with and I applaud you fro writing it. I have three questions. The first is regarding an observation I made of your book, that the fate of women and girls during the war is mentioned only breifly in the beginning-- more specifically, in a sentence describing the general spectrum of violence that befell people during the war, and again in reference to what happened to your friend's sisters. I am wondering if you intentionally avoided the topic of violence toward women and girls, and if so, why? My second question, though not related to your book, is related to humanitarian efforts to ameliorate the effects of war in Africa. One such example is Oprah Winfrey's new school for girls she believes will someday lead the continent of Africa. What do you think of her project? And finally, I'm wondering what your thoughts are on the success of your book vs. that of the "Lost Boys" of Sudan who have a memoir out now and have had a documentary film made about their experiences. Many blessings upon you-- Malala e.