Utilizing narratives of seven different people - soldier, rebel, student, trader, evangelist, father, and politician - "I Did it To Save My Life" provides fresh insight into how ordinary Sierra Leoneans survived the war that devastated their country for a decade. Individuals in the town of Makeni narrate survival through the rubric of love, and by telling their stories and bringing memory into the present, create for themselves a powerful basis on which to reaffirm the rightness of their choices and orient themselves to a livable everyday. The book illuminates a social world based on love, a deep, compassionate relationship based on material exchange and nurturing, that transcends romance and binds people together across space and through time. In situating their wartime lives firmly in this social world, they call into question the government's own narrative that Makeni residents openly collaborated with the rebel RUF during its three-year occupation of the town. Residents argue instead that it was the government's disloyalty to its people, rather than rebel invasion and occupation, which destroyed the town and forced uneasy co-existence between civilians and militants.

About the Author
Catherine Bolten is Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame.

Reviews
"A profoundly touching book." -- Joanna Lewis * Times Higher Education Supplement *
"Bolten does a great job of depicting the life histories of seven residents of Makeni experiencing [Sierra Leone's] civil war in different capacities and from various angles. . . . Reading their stories intertwined with the history of the civil war and Bolten's insightful comments was very intriguing indeed." * Oral History Review *



Book Information
ISBN 9780520273795
Author Catherine E. Bolten
Format Paperback
Page Count 296
Imprint University of California Press
Publisher University of California Press
Weight(grams) 408g
Dimensions(mm) 229mm * 152mm * 20mm