“ In the sky there are always answers and explanations for everything: every pain, every suffering, joy and confusion. Ishmael Beah
“ Children played guessing games, telling each other whether the gun fired was and AK-47, a G3, an RPG, or a machine gun. Ishmael Beah
“ I put my hands behind my head and lay on my back, trying to hold on to the memories of my family. Their faces seemed to be far off somewhere in my mind, and to get to them I had to bring up painful me… Ishmael Beah
“ I took out my grenade and put my fingers inside the pin. 'Do you boys want this to be your last meal, or do you want to answer his question? Ishmael Beah
“ My squad is my family, my gun is my provider, and protector, and my rule is to kill or be killed. Ishmael Beah
“ It isn't about knowing the most stories, child. It is about carrying the ones that are most important and passing them along. Ishmael Beah
“ I grew up in Sierra Leone, in a small village where as a boy my imagination was sparked by the oral tradition of storytelling. At a very young age I learned the importance of telling stories - I saw t… Ishmael Beah
“ It was not easy being a soldier, but we just had to do it. I have been rehabilitated now, so don’t be afraid of me. I am not a soldier anymore; I am a child. Ishmael Beah
“ Every time people come at us with the intention of killing us, I close my eyes and wait for death. Even thought I am still alive, I feel like each time I accept death, part of me dies. Very soon I wil… Ishmael Beah
“ As a kid in Africa, you were so connected to nature itself because you went farming, watched the moon out at night, observed how the sky was different, and how the birds chanted different songs in the… Ishmael Beah
“ I was so happy that my mother, father, and two brothers had somehow found one another. Perhaps my mother and father have gotten back together, I thought. Ishmael Beah
“ Some nights the sky wept stars that quickly floated and disappeared into the darkness before our wishes could meet them. Ishmael Beah
“ I was one of those children forced into fighting at the age of 13, in my country Sierra Leone, a war that claimed the lives of my mother, father and two brothers. I know too well the emotional, psycho… Ishmael Beah
“ The branches of the trees looked as if they were holding hands and bowing their heads in prayer. Ishmael Beah
“ We all find joy and radiance and a reason to move on even in the most dire of circumstances. Even in chaos and madness, there's still a beauty that comes from just the vibrancy of another human spirit… Ishmael Beah
