Journalism Professor Co-Authors Book to Accompany National Geographic Film

A Utah State University professor has collaborated with one of the so-called Lost Boys of Sudan on the memoir God Grew Tired of Us, a National Geographic Press book published January 2007.

Michael S. Sweeney and John Bul Dau worked on the book over the summer and fall of 2006. Sweeney is head of the journalism and communication department at USU, and Dau is a member of the Dinka tribe who immigrated to the United States from East Africa in 2001.

Dau is featured in a documentary film with the same name as the book. The film — directed by Christopher Quinn, narrated by Nicole Kidman and executive-produced by Brad Pitt — debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in 2006. It won the top awards from Sundance critics and audiences in the documentary category. The National Geographic bought the rights and began distributing the film to theaters nationwide Jan. 13, 2007.

The film and book chronicle how Dau fled to safety as a teenager after his Sudanese village was shelled during Sudan’s civil war between black Christians and Arab Muslims. Dau then spent nearly 14 years in refugee camps in Ethiopia and Kenya as one of thousands of “Lost Boys,” so called because most were young orphans who grew up together with little adult supervision.

Filmmaker Quinn found Dau and two other Lost Boys featured in the movie at the Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya and began documenting their lives.

Dau was allowed to enter the United States in August 2001 and settled in Syracuse, N.Y. Despite never having seen much of the technology Americans take for granted, he was expected to be self-sufficient within 90 days of his arrival.

“John not only survived, he thrived,” Sweeney said. “He has carved out a wonderful new life, with a college education, a steady job and a wife and child. He truly is living the American dream. That’s amazing in itself, but what really blows me away is how upbeat John is after having had so many terrible things happen to him.”

The title of the book and film comes from a phrase Dau uttered on camera in an attempt to explain the horrific events that befell the Lost Boys. He was shot at, beaten and shelled. He nearly starved to death and once had to swim across a crocodile-infested river. He buried many friends who fell victim to disease in the refugee camps. Yet he learned English, kept his strong faith, got a good education and, despite long odds, has found a new home.

This is Sweeney’s sixth book, and his fourth for the National Geographic.