Not My Turn to Die
Memoirs of a Broken Childhood in Bosnia

Presents the story of the author from his childhood before the war in Bosnia to his internment and eventual freedom. It includes his emotional journey from a young teenager seeking retribution to a peaceseeking crusader seeking healing and reconciliation.

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, terrorised, 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 peaceseeking crusader seeking healing and reconciliation. At once powerful and elegiac, "Not My Turn to Die" offers a unique look at a conflict that continues to compel and enlighten us.