Boy Soldier: A memoir of innocence lost and humanity regained in northern Uganda

Uganda's civil war with Joseph Kony's Lord'sResistance Army has raged since the 1980s, claiming over 100,000 lives anddisplacing around 1.5 million people. Kony's rebel force, who combine religiousmysticism with extreme brutality, have abducted tens of thousands of children:their child soldiers. Their insurgency continues to this day, though most of usknow little about it. Norman Okello was only twelve when he wasabducted by the LRA. In captivity, he was subjected to a ruthless trainingregime aimed at turning him into a killing machine free from conscience andfear. Forced to commit unspeakable acts of violence, Norman struggled not justto stay alive but to hold on to the last shreds of his humanity. When hefinally escaped the clutches of the LRA, he faced his next ordeal: trying toreintegrate into a society that feared and despised him.Harrowing, heart-rending and enlightening in equalmeasure, Boy Soldier is above all a story of survival andredemption against unbelievable odds.