Book 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.
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.
Back Cover copy
From the Back Cover
"Savo Heleta's account of life in pre-war and war-time Bosnia, and his experiences as a minority Serb in the besieged Muslim enclave of war-time Gorazde is a gripping and compelling story of the nobility of good and the banality of evil. Through the eyes of young Savo we watch the collapse of human moral values under the onslaught of hatred, propaganda, desperation and lies, while also seeing the attempts by some to maintain their humanity in the face of overwhelming odds. It is a fascinating piece of memoir literature from Bosnia that is certain to outrage the reader, while at the same time offering an exciting narrative." -- Dr. James Lyons, The International Crisis Group
"Savo Heleta's moving portrait of life in Gorazde during the Bosnian War takes us beyond the simplicity of victim and victimizer, beyond the minutiae of peace negotiations and into the realm of cold, hard war." --Ambassador John McDonald
"Savo Heleta's memoir of the war in Bosnia is an eloquent testimony to the human capacity for compassion and forgiveness. Only by hearing the personal stories of those, like Savo, who are witnesses to the terrible trauma and lasting damage of war, can we imagine how to create a culture of peace. I am grateful to Savo Heleta for erecting a signpost along our path." --Andrew Himes, executive director of the Voices in Wartime Education Project
"All of us face the choice to feed hatred or love, war or peace, yet few of us need do so under the desperate circumstances that teenaged Savo experienced during the Bosnian war. We tremble with him and his family through the violence and trauma of those years, and rejoice with him as he confronts the path of revenge and chooses instead the way of the peacemaker. Thank you, Savo, for taking us with you on this incredible journey." --Louise Diamond, Ph.D., president emeritus, the Institute for Multi-Track Diplomacy
"Savo Heleta's account of life in pre-war and war-time Bosnia, and his experiences as a minority Serb in the besieged Muslim enclave of war-time Gorazde is a gripping and compelling story of the nobility of good and the banality of evil. Through the eyes of young Savo we watch the collapse of human moral values under the onslaught of hatred, propaganda, desperation and lies, while also seeing the attempts by some to maintain their humanity in the face of overwhelming odds. It is a fascinating piece of memoir literature from Bosnia that is certain to outrage the reader, while at the same time offering an exciting narrative." -- Dr. James Lyons, The International Crisis Group
"Savo Heleta's moving portrait of life in Gorazde during the Bosnian War takes us beyond the simplicity of victim and victimizer, beyond the minutiae of peace negotiations and into the realm of cold, hard war." --Ambassador John McDonald
"Savo Heleta's memoir of the war in Bosnia is an eloquent testimony to the human capacity for compassion and forgiveness. Only by hearing the personal stories of those, like Savo, who are witnesses to the terrible trauma and lasting damage of war, can we imagine how to create a culture of peace. I am grateful to Savo Heleta for erecting a signpost along our path." --Andrew Himes, executive director of the Voices in Wartime Education Project
"All of us face the choice to feed hatred or love, war or peace, yet few of us need do so under the desperate circumstances that teenaged Savo experienced during the Bosnian war. We tremble with him and his family through the violence and trauma of those years, and rejoice with him as he confronts the path of revenge and chooses instead the way of the peacemaker. Thank you, Savo, for taking us with you on this incredible journey." --Louise Diamond, Ph.D., president emeritus, the Institute for Multi-Track Diplomacy
