Ishmael Beah
1980
Ishmael Beah is a wonderful author hailing from Sierra Leone. He is popular for writing historical fiction, young adult, coming of age, and cultural stories. Ishmael is also a noted human rights activist. He achieved fame for the first time with his widely popular memoir called A Long Way Gone. After that, he wrote two more books, both of which are also immensely popular. Author Ishmael was born on November 23, 1980, in the Mogbwemo town of Bonthe District in Sierra Leone. When the Civil War broke out in Sierra Leone in 1991, rebels invaded his hometown and caused destruction everywhere, forcing him to flee. Ishmael was detached from his family and spent several months wandering with a small group of boys. When he was 13 years old, he was forcefully made a child soldier. As per the accounts given by Ishmael, he claims that UNICEF managed to rescue him after fighting for almost 3 years.