Reviewed by Rama Gaind.
By Ayik Chut Deng with Craig Henderson, Vintage Books, $34.99.
The Lost Boy is a frank, profoundly moving account of one man’s journey from being a former child soldier in Sudan to finding his way to Australia and settling down in Toowoomba, Queensland.
This is an illuminating account of the complexities of trauma, and one man’s story of how he got to where he is today. His determination to create a new life after his escape to Australia is just as inspirational.
Ayik Chut Deng, a member of the Sudanese People’s Liberation Army, was regularly tortured by older boys and made many attempts to escape the army training camp. He fought battles in Ethiopia and Sudan, and faced unspeakable violence. While the childhood horror stories are confronting, it’s not necessary that you flinch.
It’s easy to get an understanding of the way of life in another country, but you do not feel pity. In fact, it’s heartening to realise how Ayik turned disaster into triumph.
At 19, Ayik and his family escaped the conflict in Sudan and resettled in Toowoomba, but adjusting to his new life in a small town was more difficult than he anticipated. He was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder that was misdiagnosed as schizophrenia, leading to years of erratic behaviour on the wrong medication.
He struggled with drugs and alcohol, fought with his family and found himself in trouble with the law before he came to the painful realisation that his conduct was putting not only his life at risk, but also the lives of his loved ones.
As an adult now living in Brisbane, Ayik is a father, working as an actor and volunteering at his local youth centre. Overcoming a childhood filled with torture and war was a process of lifelong learning, choices and challenges that included a remarkable chance encounter with a figure from his past, and an appearance on national television.