I would like to extend my thanks to NetGalley, the FierceReads team, and the author for sending me an e-arc of this book to read and review.

Don't Look Back by Achut Deng and Keely Hutton is a nonfiction memoir detailing more than ten years of Achut's life fighting to survive and her desire to live after the Second Sudanese Civil War. Not only was she running from war, but she was hiding from natural predators and predatory people, fighting for food and water, searching for a place to sleep and to call her own, forced to grow up quickly and alter her identity at the new places she went to. I read this book by listening to the audiobook, which is narrated by Achut Deng. Deng narrating her story added a more intimate touch to the story that played into my emotions while reading. I was heartbroken, appalled and disgusted, angry and scared for Achut, excited, hopeful, and happy for a better life and good news to come, full of guilt and remorse, confusion and frustration towards the events that happened, how much Achut has lost, and how other countries could have done more. From beginning to end, I was invested in the story, hoping and wanting to know Achut and her family survived and living well now, in love with the writing and how it told a compelling story. The story was written in a way that felt like it was straight from Achut's words and eyes, describing to readers what she was seeing and feeling, using words she was familiar with and describing American things in her own way until she had a word for them. At moments, it was difficult to read due to the tragic and violent events that took place and how they reminded me of how privileged I am to be living differently, to have access to an abundance of help, food, clothing, medicine, and more that Achut and many refugees did not have. Don't Look Back is an important and necessary impactful story that will break readers' hearts and remind them to have empathy, understanding, and patience for others going through difficult times, and maybe even be more active within their communities to offer more to those that may need it.

I prefer not to rate nonfiction books, especially memoirs, because it feels wrong to rate someone's lived experience and opinions they believe to be true to them. However, NetGalley does not allow reviews to be posted without a review so this will be given a five star rating.

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*received for free from netgalley for honest review* What an amazing read. I really love reading memoirs and while this was a hard read for most of it, it was an important read to say the least. Would recommend and reread.

Such a sad but powerful story. I couldn't imagine how hard it must have been to have to make difficult decisions like that for yourself

As far as memoirs go, I really enjoyed reading this one, the writing was amazing. I loved the author explaining certain things and really enjoyed the way it pieced together,

Don’t Look Back is a beautifully written moving story of six year old Achut Deng’s escape from her war-ravaged home in a small village in the Sudan, a decade of further trauma in a refugee camp in Ethiopia, and a tainted hope for a better future in her first year in the US. The lessons on resilience that she brings to us from those who raised her, especially those she lost while so young, are unmatched in anything I have read or seen before. I am so glad she has telling her story to the world, and I will definitely be sharing it with my high school students.

Thank you to Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Netgalley, and the authors, Achut Deng and Keely Hutton for early access to this outstanding memoir.

Told by many throughout her (Achut) life to don’t look back just keep going. That is what she did as a child to live now at sixteen she finds herself in the United States after losing all her relatives in Sudan. But once she reached the United State she found what many before her found different kinds of issues, some just as bad as the Sudan but with faith and some hope tucked in her pocket she manages.
This is a great book of one who got away and is doing well, unlike so many in Sudan. She just kept going even in spite of her past.

I can see the importance of this book, but unfortunately it's just not for me. I will keep it in mind for recommendations for people looking for this type of story.

This memoir reads like an adventure story at first. The details about the Dinka culture, the war in Sudan, and the unbelievable events in Achut's life are eye opening. Deciding what details to include in a memoir are always challenging. There is an unevenness to this memoir. Sometimes details bogged it down, other times little or no detail was included, just the fact that something took place.