The Journey of the Lost Boys
Joan Hecht
(Reviewer - Rebecca Brown)
2005 Allswell Press
ISBN: 0976387506

A story of courage, faith, & the sheer determination to survive.

This award-winning book (2005 POW -- Promoting Outstanding Writers) offers a chronological timeline of the epic journey taken by The Lost Boys of Sudan. Narrated through the voice of an American mentor, this is an account of one group of orphaned boys who left their rural villages, managed to stay together & their harrowing trek into manhood on their way to America.

In addition to her extensive research of the political & historical events surrounding the long civil war in Sudan, Joan Hecht includes the boys' stories & their original drawings.

As Joan Hecht writes: “I've always had an adventurous spirit... that... has led me... to many exotic countries [&] cultures... I remember watching the evening news one night when a multitude of the African men, women, and children filled the screen. Having fled their countries... [they] had traveled by foot for months before reaching the distant borders of Ethiopia... I wanted desperately to do something... but... [w]hat...? Ultimately, I did the only thing I could... and simply said a prayer on their behalf... as time passed, their images slowly began to fade and with them my lifelong dreams of visiting Africa...

“...That is until the summer of 2001... I had never even heard of the Lost Boys of Sudan & had no knowledge of their incredible story... approximately 3,800... young refugees had come to America that year in a resettlement program established by the [US]... and the UNHCR (United Nations High Committee for Refugees)... 85... settled in my hometown of Jacksonville, Florida, and many were attending... services at my church... I couldn't help but notice them... they were extremely hard to miss. Most were tall... and... thin, and their skin was the darkest shade of black imaginable... on those rare occasions when I did venture closer... I noticed not only their strikingly handsome features, but also the scars and... markings that were... etched upon their faces and bodies... I finally got my long-awaited glimpse of Africa... [i]n fact, I did not travel to Africa at all, because... Africa came to me.”

As in any dangerous & arduous trek, you have to start with the first step, From The Author gets you in touch with Joan Hecht's frames of references & her light & compelling way with words. Once you have started, howver, you'll be unable to let go, even as you lift up your eyes from the page, wondering where on earth you really are.

This is a valiant & earnest effort on the author's part, somewhat blighted by the lack of professional editing, & very dense text with barely any margins to the pages, or indented conversations. Nonetheless, the story Joan Hecht has to tell, The Boys' drawings & her rendition of The Boys' own stories will crack open your heart & change your life, almost as much as The Lost Boys changed hers.

I especially enjoyed, as an immigrant myself, seeing America through the eyes & customs of The Boys -- they certainly had an enormous culture-shock to overcome, especially inre: gender roles.

Well worth the money & the stories will make a difference in your life.

Joan Hecht is Founder & President of the Alliance for the Lost Boys of Sudan at: www.allianceforthelostboys.com
(03/12/06)

Rebecca