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About the Author
Ishmael Beah was born in Sierra Leone in 1980. At the age of 13, he was forcefully recruited to fight in the civil war ravaging the country. After living as a child soldier for almost three years, he was removed from the army and repatriated into civilian life by UNICEF. He eventually relocated to the United States to live with an American family. In 2004, Beah completed his Bachelor of Arts in political science at Oberlin College. He has spoken before the United Nations and other panels on children affected by the war. His work has appeared in VespertinePress and LIT magazine. He lives in New York City.