Shadows into Light: A Generation of Former Child Soldiers Comes of Age

by Theresa S. Betancourt, Moses Zombo Narrated by Lisa S. Ware

Overview

During the civil war that ravaged Sierra Leone from 1991 to 2002, an estimated 20,000 children were forced to join the fighting. As villages were raided and youths rounded up, it was not uncommon for a child to be ordered to kill a friend, relative, or neighbor. The goal was to make it impossible for the captives to return home and be accepted back into their communities.



But when the conflict ended, many of the children did find their way home. Theresa Betancourt and her collaborators in Sierra Leone launched a study of more than 500 boys and girls who had been pulled into the war, tracking them for over two decades. The results were surprising: despite everything they had suffered, this was not a lost generation. In fact, the most dominant trend was one of healing and increasing acceptance. The lives of the former child soldiers were shaped not just by their personal ordeals but also by the responses of their families, peers, and communities. Shadows into Light describes heartbreak and despair but also remarkable triumphs.



Betancourt's study provides insight into the long-term psychological and developmental effects of family separation, war, and exposure to violence. The lessons go beyond Sierra Leone's tragedy, suggesting that we should think of children's risk and resilience more as products of the post-trauma environment than as individual traits.

Editorial Reviews

Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Inspiring…An eye-opening look at how young survivors of wartime trauma can achieve postwar success.

David Sengeh

To bring a country back to its feet following a devastating civil war is no small accomplishment. In this intrepid, carefully researched, and deeply engaged book, Theresa Betancourt and her team show what it takes for war’s young survivors to persevere and reach their fullest potential. The stories told here have critical implications for crafting programs and policies that will help Sierra Leone achieve its goals for development and prosperity.

Vikram Patel

The horror of children being conscripted into war is unparalleled in the dark annals of trauma. And yet, those who survive this unimaginable violence must then confront another arduous challenge: how to rebuild and restore their lives. Theresa Betancourt’s Shadows into Light is a testimony to the remarkable resilience of these children, as well as to the tenacity and passion of a formidable woman who has documented their powerful stories to inspire us all.

William Beardslee

This beautifully written book is a powerful account of groundbreaking work carried out by Theresa Betancourt and her team to understand the reintegration of children taken captive during the war in Sierra Leone, many of whom were forced to be child soldiers. It describes the development of evidence-based interventions and policies and, as important, shares stories of the lives of young people that illustrate their paths to resilience or despair. It should be widely read by policymakers, social scientists, practitioners, and all those concerned about the welfare of children in war-torn areas.

Science News - Elizabeth Quill

Both heart-wrenching and heartening…tells the stories of the trauma these children faced, their reunion with family, their reintegration into their communities, and their ongoing struggles and healing.

Christy Turlington Burns

In my many years working to ensure healthier birth outcomes for mothers and families around the globe, it’s been clear that war-affected areas face some of the most significant risks. Shadows into Light offers timely insights into the real effects of war on the lives of children and families in Sierra Leone, while also highlighting dynamics that exist in too many other war-torn parts of our world. Theresa Betancourt and her team showcase multiple opportunities to help young people in these environments reach their full potential, and to promote healthier and more just societies in the face of violent conflict.

Henry Louis Gates

In this monumental study, Theresa Betancourt turns shadows into light by focusing on one of the most vulnerable populations on the planet: children devastated by war. The work of decades of research and travel, Betancourt’s book is not only a major academic breakthrough in how we must think about—and address—the traumas of the young who have been swept up in such scarring conflicts as the civil war in Sierra Leone. It is also a gripping human drama and a brilliant, passionate call for change commensurate with hope.

Martha Minow

How can children affected by wartime abductions and assaults come to thrive? This brave, rigorous, and humane book reveals both the persistent consequences of trauma and the astonishing beauty of resilience that is possible when people receive high-quality help. Grounded in over two decades of work in Sierra Leone, Shadows into Light memorably shows how effective assistance can enable heart-opening strength and growth for individuals and communities emerging from appalling harms.

Kirkus Reviews

★ 2024-11-21
The toll of war on the young.

Rebel armies abducted both boys and girls in the Sierra Leone Civil War, which inflicted tens of thousands of casualties and displaced more than 2 million people between 1991 and 2002. Some bore arms, others took roles as scouts, scavengers, cooks, or any other task their captors ordained. Extreme violence—including execution for minor offenses—and sexual abuse were commonplace, and many of the girls became pregnant. Not surprisingly, they encountered obstacles when returning to civilian life—PTSD, bullying and teasing at school, rejection by families and neighbors. After the war, Betancourt, then a Ph.D. student at Harvard, went to Sierra Leone to study how the survivors were adapting. Now a professor at Boston College, she tells some of their stories, as well as the stories of those who tried to help them become healthy, productive citizens. Not all succeeded. Many of the boys joined gangs or became drug addicts; many of the girls turned to sex work to support themselves and their own children. Those who escaped these traps usually did so with the support of their families and communities. Those working to help the survivors reintegrate found success by persuading family and respected elders to give the survivors support. Still, the programs were impeded by inadequate funding and staffing—there are only three practicing psychiatrists in the entire country—and by a traditional culture that stigmatized mental illness. General readers may find some of the text slow going because of technical jargon, but the story as a whole is inspiring. A bonus for many readers will be the close-up view of Sierra Leone, a country few Americans know well.

An eye-opening look at how young survivors of wartime trauma can achieve postwar success.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940194606542
Publisher:	Tantor Audio
Publication date:	05/27/2025
Edition description:	Unabridged

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