108 Quotes by Ishmael Beah

I was so happy that my mother, father, and two brothers had somehow found one another. Perhaps my mother and father have gotten back together, I thought.

Elimane had taught the little family to make a point of memorizing the current prices of all sort of commonly needed goods and services; asking the price was essentially announcing your lack of street smarts and pleading to be overcharged.

We took a bowl each and started eating. He went back into the little room, and by the time he returned to the table with his own bowl of food to eat with us, we had already finished. He was shocked and looked around to see if we had done something else with the food.

Who can ever know what path to walk on when all of them are either crooked or broken? One just has to walk.

This days one must be careful to avoid awakening the pain of another.

Some people tried to hurt us to protect themselves, their family and communities...This was one of the consequences of civil war. People stopped trusting each other, and every stranger became an enemy. Even people who knew you became extremely careful about how they related or spoke to you.

The branches of the trees looked as if they were holding hands and bowing their heads in prayer.

What a constant creation life was! Any day, any hour, any minute, something good or bad happened and became part of you for a lifetime.

It isn't about knowing the most stories, child. It is about carrying the ones that are most important and passing them along.