Recreational reading is a must during summer break. With classes out for more than three months and plenty of spare time, it is ideal to let your mind wander and take a journey of its own.
The usual summer reads are Nicholas Sparks books and other love novels, but this summer, instead of going on a romantic roller coaster, put yourself in the shoes of these three authors and navigate the stories they survived to tell.
"A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier" by Ishmael Beah In his gripping memoir, Beah recounts his past as a child soldier in war-struck Sierra Leone. For one year, he fled through the jungles to escape the Revolutionary United Front but was eventually kidnapped and forced into the RUF for three years. Beah's descriptive details leave readers feeling as if they are running through the same dense jungles of his past.
"Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey Through His Son's Addiction" by David Sheff Sheff takes readers down memory lane in a book about his son's addiction to methamphetamine. Because he was so close to his son throughout his life, Sheff always thought Nic would be open with him and share his curiosities about substance abuse. Instead Sheff is put into a constant state of worry about Nic — which becomes his own addiction — wondering if his beautiful boy will live to see his 21st birthday. As a journalist, Sheff shares his research about addiction and recovery with readers, causing them to worry about Nic's life as well.
"Jesus Land" by Julia Scheeres An award-winning journalist, Scheeres recounts her experience living in the Midwest during the 1980s, when praising Jesus and yelling racial slurs was permissible. Growing up with two adopted African-American brothers, Scheeres and one of her adopted brothers, David, were best friends and didn't let their skin color set them apart. As the two go through high school, Scheeres reveals the physical and sexual abuse that was rampant in their household, and how nowhere she or David tried to run to was safe. As they grew older and decided their parent's religion was not for them, they were both sent to to Escuela Caribe, a reform school in the Dominican Republic that brainwashed the children into living the "right" way. Knowing that their only way to freedom was to play by the rules, Scheeres and David do all they can to reach their own paradise.
Reach the reporter at nrmirand@asu.edu or follow on Twitter at @natalieroxann
