Honest, Regretful
Ishmael Beah is telling us his life story. It's a story in which he has done some pretty awful things to survive. We can't really blame him, but we do appreciate the honest way he approaches the war in Sierra Leone. He never shies away from giving us the full story.
It's also crystal clear that Ishmael completely regrets the way his life turned out. He regrets the war. He regrets the losses. He regrets what he's done as a part of the army. Even though we're with the staff at the rehab center who keep saying it's not his fault, Ishmael never hides his feelings of guilt. It makes it really easy to follow him on this long journey to a better place.