Not My Turn to Die: Memoirs of a Broken Childhood in Bosnia (Hardcover)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: detention building, center for isolation, Red Cross, United States, Vranjska Mahala (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

“[T]his is a powerful book, which shows how difficult it is to make peace after such a conflict, not least peace among neighbours.” --Financial Times

Product Description

Book Description

In 1992, Savo Heleta was a young Serbian boy enjoying an idyllic, peaceful childhood in Gorazde, a primarily Muslim city in Bosnia. At the age of just thirteen, Savo's life was turned upside down as war broke out. When Bosnian Serbs attacked the city, Savo and his family became objects of suspicion overnight. Through the next two years, they endured treatment that no human being should ever be subjected to. Their lives were threatened, they were shot at, terrorized, put in a detention camp, starved, and eventually stripped of everything they owned. But after two long years, Savo and his family managed to escape. And then the real transformation took place.

From his childhood before the war to his internment and eventual freedom, we follow Savo's emotional journey from a young teenager seeking retribution to a peace-seeking diplomat seeking healing and reconciliation. As the war unfolds, we meet the incredible people who helped shape Savo's life, from his brave younger sister Sanja to Meho, the family friend who would become the family's ultimate betrayer. Through it all, we begin to understand this young man's arduous struggle to forgive the very people he could no longer trust. At once powerful and elegiac, Not My Turn to Die offers a unique look at a conflict that continues to fascinate and enlighten us.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: AMACOM (April 2, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0814401651
• ISBN-13: 978-0814401651
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #167,067 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #6 in	Books > History > Europe > Bosnia and Herzegovina
  #91 in	Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Family & Childhood
  #100 in	Books > History > Europe > Eastern

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent piece of non-fiction narrative, March 26, 2008

By	A. Sylvester - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Not My Turn to Die is a must read for everyone. The truth and ugliness about war and hatred are illustrated through the eyes of young Savo Heleta whose family was made to suffer for two years at the hands of people they once considered friends. Page after page takes you back to the early 1990s and into the heart of the conflict in Bosnia that most of us observed from afar in the safe havens of our own homes, thinking the situation unfortunate but never knowing exactly how horrific it truly was. Through his book, Savo provides a much needed human face to the pain and oppression that takes place during a war, in a time when such a reminder is needed. The world is a much better place because he has shared his story that highlights despair, but more importantly, hope, kindness and forgiveness. It is quite the page-turner and it will evoke every possible emotion within you. You will not look at life in the same way by the time you've read the last word.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Will find its place in any general-interest library., September 4, 2008

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

NOT MY TURN TO DIE: MEMOIRS OF A BROKEN CHILDHOOD IN BOSNIA tells of the author's struggle for life in 1996, just after the end of the Bosnia-Herzegovina war, when the then-17-year-old faced the man who had tried to kill his grandfather and terrorized his family during the war - a man who had been a former family friend. From his childhood pre-war to his internment, freedom, and eventual healing, NOT MY TURN TO DIE will find its place in any general-interest library.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Moving from war to peace-a young man shows us how to reconcile, July 24, 2008

By	M. Zukin (Silicon Valley, California) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The book was short, straight forward and profound. Almost like a long NYT or LA Times article, which reports and steers away from editorializing. Knowing what little I know of the Serbian/Bosnia Muslim war, I think one could have easily switched the nationalities as both groups foisted misery and atrocity on one another. Just like the American and Vietnam war...like any war. The main message I get from Savo was that in the context of war and armed conflict there are 1) very bad sadistic people, 2) very good, kind and brave people and 3) apathetic cowardly people. It is obvious that if there were many times more good people and less of the other two there would be less atrocity and murder. Let us hope the message of the book isn't muffled too much by the lingering hatred and distrust on both sides. Bravo Savo! You have restored the faith in your generation that you, collectively, have much to offer the world. From his book I get the message that we must counter hatred, revenge and murder with reconciliation and the brave heartedness that goes into doing so. More reasoning and forgiveness and fewer guns and killing will be the only pathway to more peace in the world.