BIBFRAME Work

Title

Before before

Other Titles (e.g. Variant)

Story of discovery and loss in Sierra Leone

Type

  • Text
  • Monograph

Contribution

Subject

  • Femmes--Sierra Leone--20e siècle (RVM)
  • Small, Betsy (LCSH)
  • Sierra Leone--History--20th century (LCSH)
  • Girls--Sierra Leone--20th century (LCSH)
  • Women--Sierra Leone--20th century (LCSH)
  • Filles--Sierra Leone--20e siècle (RVM)

Language

Classification

Content

Summary

Sierra Leone is often sensationalized as a place of extreme violence and suffering--of blood diamonds, child soldiers, war amputations, and Ebola and now the highly addictive drug Kush. Before Before captures daily life in a different country, one Betsy Small first encountered as a Peace Corps worker between 1984-87, and then rediscovered when she returned decades later with her daughter. Living in Tokpombu, a remote community of forty rice-farming families, the author faced struggles that changed her forever and witnessed the growing tensions in this rainforest village--between the young and old, between the traditions of oral history and honoring the ancestors valued by the elders and the siren call of the illicit diamond mines faced by the youth. Before Before offers a rare portrait of everyday people, with particular focus on the lives of women and girls, before the brutal war of 1991 tore the country apart. Through Small's account of immersion in another world as she witnessed injustice and was welcomed as a friend, readers are invited to explore the shared ground of our humanity.

Table of Contents

Witchbird -- Folds -- Chief's decision -- Do you want a box? -- Good, better, best -- Swimming lessons -- Bawbee(s) -- Beauty season - Those who were not loyal -- Fishpond -- Directions of wonder -- Felt-tipped -- Good morning, America! -- Strident cry of the weaver birds -- Be all and end all -- Perception.

Authorized Access Point

Small, Betsy. Before before

Geographic Coverage

Admin Metadata

  • Date: 2026-09-11T20:16:32.913745+00:00
  • Agent: cbc
  • Status: c
  • Derived from: 23921656

Admin Metadata

  • Date: 2026-09-11
  • Cataloger id: Unknown
  • Description level: http://id.loc.gov/ontologies/bibframe-2-6-0/
  • Description language: eng
  • Description authentication: pcc

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