In a tale detailing his experiences as a child soldier in Sierra Leone, Ishmael Beah talked of a time and experience that was "a long way gone" Monday night.

Born in Sierra Leone in 1980, Beah's life was interrupted by a violent civil war that lasted nine years. He was only 13 years old when he was forcibly recruited to fight as a child soldier.

Beah then fought for more than two years before UNICEF placed him in a rehabilitation center. He admitted that during this period he witnessed and committed some of the most horrendous atrocities.

Finishing rehab about a year later, he won a competition to speak his story at a United Nations conference. In 2007, he wrote his memoir, "A Long Way Gone," which quickly received international acclaim.

"I wanted to write a book you cannot walk away from very easily," Beah said. "I wanted the (reader) to see, hear, feel and smell the experience."

Beah then spoke of his difficulties with presenting such a work to the world, the first of its kind.

"It was very difficult, and several times I had wanted to walk away. Then I think that somewhere a child was going through the same thing, and I don't want people to forget them," Beah said. "I wanted to remind people that it was not so far away or removed."

He then addressed some of the broader issues surrounding his past. Beah shared the culture of a pre-war Sierra Leone, reminding the audience of the peaceful, different Africa that people sometimes forget to see.

Lastly, he spoke of the necessity to fix the injustice surrounding child soldiers, calling for political will and more action to strengthen international standards.

"We still don't believe all human beings are the same, and when we do see that each life is valuable, we can react to help when somebody suffers," Beah said in closing.

Students said they were moved by his story.

"I thought his speech was very compelling," said senior Linda Vongkhamchanh. "He spoke of the issues going on right now, and I appreciate that."

And for senior Jerry Yirenkyi, who is from Ghana, Beah's lecture hit home in a different way.

"Some of the things he was saying were kind of nostalgic," Yirenkyi said, "the lifestyle before the war as a child, interaction between family and friends in a closely knit community, and the description of the village."

Freshman Elliot Hall said Beah gave him optimism for the future.

"His was a speech that gave me an actual, tangible sense of hope," Hall said. "People can see the error of their ways and change for the better."

- Judy Wang can be reached at zhu.wang@vanderbilt.edu