In the more than fifty conflicts going on worldwide, it is estimated that there are some 300,000 child soldiers. Ishmael Beah used to be one of them. In his rare and mesmerizing account, A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier (Douglas & McIntyre), Beah tells of his experience as a child fighting a war in Sierra Leone.

ISHMAEL BEAH is in conversation with Hal Wake at Talk of the Town, John Oliver Secondary School, 530 East 41st Avenue, Vancouver on Thursday, March 29 at 7:00 p.m. For ticket information contact info.talkofthetown@ubc.ca or phone 604-827-3491.