Against the brutal backdrop of Liberia's first civil war, a discarded boy learns love and belonging from a series of individuals who shape his life.

From navigating the often-corrupt Liberian political and educational system to extracting himself from his oppressor's polygamist network at the tender age of twelve, Augustine's journey into adulthood was far from typical. When the country's first civil uprising forced young men to choose—kill or be killed—a series of strangers showed Augustine a powerful third choice: love. 

The Nature of Shadows uses the reverence and self-effacing humor for which Liberians are known to craft a coming-of-age, survival story that bears witness to the best and worst of the human condition, no matter the continent.