Quotes by Ishmael Beah

About Ishmael Beah:

Ishmael Beah is a Sierra Leonean author and human rights activist who rose to fame with his acclaimed memoir, A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier. His first novel, Radiance of Tomorrow, was published in January 2014.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

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 that stories are the most potent way of seeing anyt...

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, psychological and physical burden that comes with being ...

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

Who can ever know what path to walk on when all of them are either crooked or broken? One just has to walk.

Ishmael Beah

This days one must be careful to avoid awakening the pain of another.

Ishmael Beah

I am always quiet so that I know what to say when I must speak.

Ishmael Beah

I was afraid to fall asleep, but staying awake also brought back painful memories. Memories I sometimes wish I could wash away, even though I am aware that they are an important part of what my life is; who I am now. I stayed up all night, anxiously ...

Ishmael Beah

How many more times do we have to come to terms with death before we find safety?" he asked. He waited a few minutes, but the three of us didn't say anything. He continued: "Every time people come at us with the intention of killing us, I close my ey...

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 will completely die and all that will be left is my e...

Ishmael Beah

Sometimes I closed my eyes hard to avoid thinking, but the eye of the mind refused to be closed and continued to plague me with images.

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

I joined the army to avenge the deaths of my family and to survive, but I've come to learn that if I am going to take revenge, in that process I will kill another person whose family will want revenge; then revenge and revenge and revenge will never ...

Ishmael Beah

In the sky there are always answers and explanations for everything: every pain, every suffering, joy and confusion.

Ishmael Beah

I was sad to leave, but I was also pleased to have met people outside of Sierra Leone. Because if I was to get killed upon my return, I knew that a memory of my existence was alive somewhere in the world.

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

The branches of the trees looked as if they were holding hands and bowing their heads in prayer.

Ishmael Beah

We took a bowl each and started eating. He went back into the little room, and by the time he returned to the table with his own bowl of food to eat with us, we had already finished. He was shocked and looked around to see if we had done something el...

Ishmael Beah

Some people tried to hurt us to protect themselves, their family and communities...This was one of the consequences of civil war. People stopped trusting each other, and every stranger became an enemy. Even people who knew you became extremely carefu...

Ishmael Beah

What happens in the context of war is that, in order for you to make a child into a killer, you destroy everything that they know, which is what happened to me and my town. My family was killed, all of my family, so I had nothing.

Ishmael Beah

I had gone to a talent show - I was interested in American hip-hop music - with my older brother, to another town, and my town was attacked. I went from having an entire family to the next minute not having anything. It was very painful.

Ishmael Beah

Author Bio

  • NameIshmael Beah
  • DescriptionSierra Leone writer
  • BornDecember 23, 1980
  • CountrySierra Leone
  • ProfessionWriter
  • WorksA Long Way Gone: Memoirs Of A Boy Soldier