WALK TOWARD THE RISING SUN

Actor, model, and activist Duany’s tale of going from being a Sudanese child soldier to becoming an activist for Sudan.

Trying to survive in a time of constant war in southern Sudan, exposed to monumental trauma and loss, Duany became a child soldier. After facing death in more ways than he could cope with, Duany made it to a Kenyan refugee camp and then to America, where he found that things were harder than he anticipated. He encountered embedded racism and learned that PTSD meant he could not escape his ghosts by running away. Eventually, Duany became a model and later an actor. Despite having known constant instability and many years as a refugee with no sense of permanence, Duany has never forgotten his homeland and gives back to his family and home country in part by sharing his childhood experiences and talking about the realities of life for many in what is now South Sudan. With co-author Thomas, Duany tells his life story, naming many of the folks who impacted him along the way through honest, detailed, straightforward prose. The book explores survival, hope, and the meaning of kinship—whether forged by blood, friendship, or shared experiences of war.

An intimate look from a refugee’s perspective at the toll war takes.