a long way gone

I picked up the book A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier at Starbucks yesterday (I gave you the link to buy it at Amazon, while Starbucks does donate $2 of the $22 to UNICEF, buy the book at Amazon for $13 and send $9 to UNICEF or World Vision). Took it to bed with me last night and I got through 5 chapters.

This book is not for the faint of heart. It was a painful read. Considering that the images of war are described from a child's perspective, years later, and limited to the focus of the author, it is hard to stomach. It was a sobering reminder of what war really is, and how destructive man can become. I have only had a couple pages of Ishmael being a boy soldier, and the amount of brainwashing and numbness to violence he recalls is more than disturbing.

I can recommend this book for those who have not grasped the cost of war. Be warned that once you read this book, you can't help but want to do something, and that is why you should buy the book from Amazon and give more to those who are helping save these hurting kids.