God Grew Tired of Us: A Memoir - Softcover

Dau, John Bul; Sweeney, Michael S.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1426202121 ISBN 13: 9781426202124

Publisher: National Geographic, 2008

Synopsis

"Lost Boy" John Bul Dau’s harrowing experience surviving the brutal horrors of Sudanese civil war and his adjustment to life in modern America is chronicled in this inspiring memoir and featured in an award-winning documentary film of the same name. Movingly written, the book traces Dau’s journey through hunger, exhaustion, terror, and violence as he fled his homeland, dodging ambushes, massacres and attacks by wild animals. His tortuous, 14-year journey began in 1987, when he was just 13, and took him on a 1,000-mile walk, barefoot, to Ethiopia, back to Sudan, then to a refugee camp in Kenya, where he lived with thousands of other Lost Boys. In 2001, at the age of 27, he immigrated to the United States. With touching humor, Dau recounts the shock of his tribal culture colliding with life in America. He shares the joy of reuniting with his family and the challenges of making a new life for himself while never forgetting the other Lost Boys he left behind.

About this title

About the Author

John Bul Dau is a Dinka from Southern Sudan and one of thousands of Lost Boys who fled their homeland during Sudanese civil war. He found shelter at refugee camps in Ethiopia and Kenya before coming to Syracuse, New York, where he now lives with his wife and his daughter.

Michael S. Sweeney is a professor of journalism at Utah State University. He is the author of the acclaimed book Secrets of Victory, which was named 2001 Book of the Year by the American Journalism Historians Association.

From Booklist

Just 13 in 1987 when he was driven from his village and separated from his family in the raging civil war in southern Sudan, John Bul Dau spent years in refugee camps in Ethiopia and Kenya, until in 2001 he came to the U.S. as one of 4,000 Lost Boys of Sudan. His memoir is the subject of a new, award-winning documentary film. Like Deng's They Poured Fire on Us from the Sky (2005), this is a stark, first-person account of trauma and survival. Dau tells it quietly, in fast, simple prose true to the young teen's viewpoint. He's funny about the culture shock in America and honest about his years in the camp, even the fact that, trauma notwithstanding, he liked being tabbed as a leader. Although appreciative of this country and the chance for work and college, he never denies his connections to Africa. Unforgettable photos document his reunion--after 19 years--with family he did not know were alive. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About this edition

• Publisher: National Geographic
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 1426202121
• ISBN 13: 9781426202124
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 304