Running for My Life: One Lost Boy's Journey from the Killing Fields of Sudan to the Olympic Games Hardcover – July 16, 2012

.Best release of 2012.Just as we begin to feel discouraged about the direction in which America is heading a strong young voice, a voice of experience, is telling us very clearly that the American Dream is NOT dead.Every American should read this autobiography by Lopez Lomong, a Lost Boy of Sudan, who dreamed of becoming an Olympic runner for the United States.Six year old Lopepe (born in 1985) was part of a large group of children rounded up and kidnapped by Sudanese rebel solders in 1991.The little boy was taken under the wings of three bigger boys who helped him escape, running in the wrong direction for home. Eventually the children crossed the border into Kenya, where they were put in a refugee camp. The bigger boys, whom Lopez calls "angels," vanished and were never seen by him again.In the Kenyan refugee camp, work, running and soccer helped fill ten long years.Food was limited and there were no school supplies. Lopez received the rudiments of education with teachers offering lectures and children writing answers in the dirt, using sticks as writing implements.In the year 2000 Lopez and several other boys crept out of the camp, paying a local farmer to let them watch an old black and white television powered by a car battery. Seeing Michael Johnson, the defending Olympic champion and world record holder in the 400-meter dash on that tv, Lopez developed a dream for his own future. He, too, would some day run in the Olympics for the United States.Lopez Lomong believes it was God who led him to learn about the Olympics and who helped him win an essay contest. The contest allowed him to be sent to America where he lived with a supportive American family, earned both his high school and Bachelor's Degrees, received his citizenship and ran in the Beijing Olympics for the United States.His youthful impressions of 9/11 and of experiencing Americans coming together as a people are very powerful, very moving, and extremely important."Running for My Life" is a true story of a young man whose hard work and faith in God has allowed him to achieve his personal dreams. We pray that his new dreams of bringing pure drinking water, public education and medical services to Sudan also come true.Excellent book. Inspiring and motivating true story.Kim BurdickStanton, Delaware

It's been a long time since I've read a memoir that choked me up like "Running for My Life" by Lopez Lomong. When he was six, Lomong was ripped from his mother's arms by rebel soldiers in South Sudan. He was held in captivity in harsh conditions until he could be trained as a child soldier. But he and his "three angels" escaped, ran for three days, and ended up in a refugee camp in Kenya, where he lived for the next ten years.The conditions in the camp left much to be desired and was only one step above the imprisonment he escaped from. Lomong's favorite past-time while in the camp was soccer, but there were so many boys wanting to play, they decided that they had to run one lap around the camp first. The lap was eighteen miles.He was finally given the chance to emigrate to America. All he had to do was write an essay - in English. He only spoke Swahili and the only school lessons he had were scribbled in the dirt with his finger. But as with all the roadblocks he faced in life, he overcame this one too.To make a long story short, he made it to the U.S., graduated from high school on time, ran track in college, and made it to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Now he spends his time helping other "lost boys" from Sudan realize their dreams.This is an amazing story, one that fills me with hope and proves that anything is possible. After reading "Running for My Life", I can no longer complain about the unfairness of life or use any excuse for not realizing my own dreams. And it makes me proud of my country, especially to see it through the eyes of this "lost boy" from Sudan.Review Written by David Allan ReevesAuthor of "Running Away From Me"

Enjoyed this book, easy read. The co-author did a good job telling the story in English, but preserving the voice of a non-native English speaker. I loved the story. It was a bit simply written (maybe just a bit too simple) but a worthy read.

I could not put this book down after I first started reading it, neither could I stop crying when reading the initial chapters. This book is incredibly inspiring and makes you feel more grateful for what you have and it made me revisit my reasons and examine my views when complaining about insignificant nuisances of life. Lopez Lomong is not only an incredible runner, he is a very positive example for many of us, somebody who overcame all the odds and not only achieved what it is a dream for most athletes, competing in the Olympics, but he never forgot where he came from and as a young adult works hard to improve the life of those who are not so fortunate and do not have access to many of the things most of us take for granted. I highly recommend this book, it's very heavy emotionally at the beginning with the very sad story of his kidnapping but by the middle of the book you are smiling from ear to ear as you read of his first time interacting with electricity, showers, etc. I was wishing this book didn't end and found myself googling about his latest races and accomplishments after the last chapter was over.

This book and all the colourful expansions and graphic details cited has been masterfully woven together into an epic testimony.!!

Inspiring story of determination and perseverance. Highly recommend to boys and girls out there

It was an absolutely riveting read. Very highly recommended for everyone to have a glimpse of motivation in life through this book!

Un libro que se lee de modo sencillo y llega el testimonio impactante de una persona que lucha por vivir desde los 6 años.Está jalonada con muchas y divertidas anécdotas.Muy recomendable a partir de los 10 años

Wer jemals nachempfinden möchte was ein sechsjähriger Junge durchlebt wenn er gewaltsam aus den Armen seiner Mutter gerissen wird, der sollte dieses Buch lesen. Wer jemals wissen möchte was es bedeutet "um sein Leben zu rennen" (Buchtitel), der darf sich ergreifen lassen von dem authentischen Bericht diese Mannes. Mich wundert es nicht dass die Biographie dieses Menschen schon bekannt war, eh er je an einer Olympiade teilgenommen hat. Normalerweise lese ich solche Horrorberichte äußerst ungern, schon weil ich beruflich genug davon erfahre. Aber manchmal wird man zu einem Buch hingeführt und ich habe es hier nicht bereut.