Lopez Lomong

A non-fiction read about one of the "Lost Boys" (kidnapped by rebel groups at the age of 6) and his miraculous escape(s) finally ending up in America in a great adoptive home. It was such an inspiring read not only about athletics, but about hard work, the American dream, the desire to learn, and compassion for others. Although he was has won many national championships and qualified and participated in 3 different Olympics, he has failed to place in those events. Lomong is giving back to his home country through the Lopez Lomong Foundation, with a mission to provide clean water, education, healthcare, and nutrition to the people of South Sudan. Although the prose was not inspiring, the story certainly was! 257 pages… (more)

Memoir of a young man who was stolen from his village in south Sudan as a young child, escaped from his captors a few weeks later, and then spent 10 years in a refugee camp before being adopted by a loving family in the US - Lopez was a runner whose dream of participating in the Olympics was realized along with other huge goals - This man is ambitious, loving, and grateful and his story was powerfully inspiring. Despite an extremely challenging late childhood and adolescence, Lopez flourished and has been able to enrich the lives of many -… (more)

Lopez Lomong

Have you ever been taken away from your parents while in church by people with machine guns? If so, you should read the book Running For My Life by Lopez Lomong, based on a true story.

Lopez’s first time on a plane he thought he had to pay for his food so he starved for three to four hours until a flight attendant told him the food was free. Lopez is a weird guy; he runs barefoot. His first day in a real house he didn’t want to use the bathroom in a BIG CLEAN house, so he asked if he could use the bathroom outside, with the dog. He also did not know how turn off the chandelier in his room, so he slept with the light on all night.

I was so shocked that he actually made it to America. He was one out of 1,000 people to get a spot to go to America from the refugee camp, in South Africa. I would recommend this book to everyone since it was a true story and kept me interested while I was reading it.… (more)