Ishmael Beah

Ishmael Beah is the author of "A Long Way Gone, Memoirs of a Boy Soldier," and he came to Logan last night for a book signing and lecture.

I anticipated having to be disclipined to get through the book, but once I started reading it, I couldn't put it down. It's difficult to read at times, not because of Beah's style of writing, but because what he writes about are the horrors he faced as a soldier in Sierra Leone, Africa, at the age of thirteen. He writes very factually about what he went through right before the war, during the war and then a bit after, when he was rehabilitated through a program run by UNICEF.

The lecture this morning was thought-provoking, inspiring and humorous...Ishmael has a wit about him that makes him instantly likeable. He spoke of what happened once he came to the United States and the importance of education, a valuable topic considering he was talking to about 1600 incoming freshman of Utah State University.

The final question during the Q&A was about Ishmael's personal views of God and religion, especially poignant in Utah, and his answer summed up my own beliefs: there is a God, but one doesn't get to that God through organized religion. Applause broke out, and I'm sure it might not have been such a moving statement in other towns, but in this town, religion is a huge topic and unfortunately, a huge divider.

I am so glad I attended this lecture and I look forward to attending more community events like this in the future.