"War Child" Emmanuel Jal on a special edition of The Wandering Book Collector, including the title track of his new album Shangah

Welcome to the travel/literary podcast The Wandering Book Collector with host Michelle Jana Chan. This is a series of conversations with writers exploring what's informed their books and their lives around themes of movement, memory, sense of place, borders, identity, belonging and home. In this special edition, I speak with Emmanuel Jal to discuss War Child, a memoir of his years growing up in Sudan, when his country was being rocked by civil war. Emmanuel was separated from his family and forced to become a child soldier. Up to two million people were killed in this war, and millions more displaced. On the cover of the book, there’s a quote of Emmanuel’s: “I believe I’ve survived for a reason to tell my story, to touch lives…” Since the publication of his book and release of a film of the same name, Emmanuel has become a World Music & hip-hop artist, and global peace ambassador. He is releasing a new album this month, title track Shangah, which plays in the podcast. Listen up. He'll get you dancing. Please consider supporting your local bookshop. The Wandering Book Collector would like to thank the supporter of this special edition: Asilia — offering authentic East African safari experiences that leave a positive impact on crucial wilderness areas If you’re enjoying the podcast, I’d love you to leave a rating or a review. To learn about future editions, please subscribe or hit “follow” on your podcast app of choice. Thank you for listening! For more on the podcast, book recs, what books to pack for where’s next, and who’s up next, I’m across socials @michellejchan. I’d love to hear from you. And if you’ve missed any, do catch up. The first season has twelve compelling editions, including conversations with Janine di Giovanni, Bernardine Evaristo, Afua Hirsch, Carla Power, Maaza Mengiste, Kapka Kassabova, Sara Wheeler, Brigid Delaney, Horatio Clare, Rebecca Mead, Preti Taneja and Kathryn D. Sullivan. The second season begins soon! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.