Courageous Journey: Walking the Lost Boys' Path from the Sudan to America

Courageous Journey - An inspiring documentary of courageous men and women who found the will to make the best of circumstances beyond belief, hold the faith for a better future and are making a difference in this world - for themselves, their families and friends, their countrymen and all who are touched by their lives. Thank you to Barbara Youree for eloquently writing this inspiring story and to Ayuel Leek Deng and Beny Ngor Chol for sharing their story and making a difference in this world.

Courageous Journey: Walking the Lost Boys Path from the Sudan to America is an incredible story of courage and determination of Ayuel Leek Deng and Beny Ngor Chol, two young boys torn from their families by Sudan's civil war. As children, they flee bombing and trek through the desert with thousands of other youngsters who are not sure where their journey will take them. Accomplished author Barbara Youree chronicles their trauma of experiencing starvation, attacks by vicious animals and enemy planes, and death of their friends. Finally reaching a refugee camp in Ethiopia, Ayuel and Beny believe that "education will be their parents." They become leaders at the camp and after ten years finally have the opportunity to go to the USA. When Ayuel learns his destination is Kansas City, Missouri, he affirms, "Light has come to my darkness." Today, these two young men are pursuing their education determined to help their homeland. Using the boys' own words, Youree brings the reader a greater understanding of the courage of two young men who are called "the seeds of the new Sudan." This is one book I could not put down until the last page.

The violence of Africa, despite being under reported in American news, is all too real. "Courageous Journey: Walking the Lost Boys' Path from The Sudan to America" is two young men's unwillingness to give up. Ayuel Leek Deng and Beny Ngor Chol have been through many things many times that many Americans never hope to encounter once. The violence over race, oil, money, all occurs as these two try to live their lives. A true story, "Courageous Journey" is eye opening and thought provoking, a telling of what really matters.

Courageous Journey tells the tale of thousands of young children cruelly separated from their families in Sudan's civil war, facing the horrors of starvation, attacked by savage beasts and savage people. Ayuel Leek Deng and Beny Ngor Chol tell their individual stories of despair and hope through master storyteller, Barbara Youree. A must read,this book sends a timely message to the world about the plight of Sudanese people.

Courageous Journey profiles the lives of young boys in Sudan who in order to flee persecution had to walk to Ethiopia. There they lived in refugee camps and were finally taken in by the United States and other countries. Most of the story focuses on Ayuel's experiences, thoughts and feelings. It is heart wrenching to realize that these men were driven out of their homes by gunfire and explosives when they were around six, and remained refugees until they were in their late teens or early twenties! The narrative follows the lost boys as they flee burning villages, most separated from family and friends in the chaos. They form new bonds with those in their group, worry about their loved ones, help those in their group, and most of all try to stay alive- a tall order at a tender age. They walk to Ethiopia through the desert fending off starvation, disease, animals, and helicopter gunfire. We read about their hopes and dreams-how these hopes are raised, how they get dashed, how it takes a toll on their will to live, and ultimately on their lives. We read about the brutality and death they witness caused by both natural and political conditions. We witness the monotony of life in the refugee camp, and the little hope such a life holds for all at the camp. When Ayuel gets picked to come to America, we follow his orientation sessions, his journey to America, more orientation, and how he and the others adapted to live in an American city. On the heels of Ayuel's arrival to America, 9/11 happens. In the aftermath of 9/11 we read about their fear of those left behind (will America stop taking in innocent refugees), and the heightened fear they come to have for being mistaken as terrorists. As they settle into normal lives, we see how they try to contact each other (sometimes across continents), and the joy when they reunite with their loved ones who now live hundreds of miles away. The backdrop of this book is highly politically charged. However, the narrative remains focused on the human elements of fleeing one's country, enduring hardships to get to a refugee camp, acclimating to life in a camp, and finally rebuilding one's life in an adopted country. Armchair Interview says: Be prepared to shed many tears while reading this book.