text: can you imagine the horror of being torn from your home, family and everything you knew at the age of 6 or 8 o what if circumstances forced you to leave everything familiar in your life behind forever? to set out on a long, lonely life-threatening journey to a destination that had for you no real meaning, no name other than "escape?" what would you do in this situation? can you even imagine?  have you heard of the "lost boys" of sudan and dave eggers' new novel "what is the what" based on their story?  the "lost boys" are tens of thousands of boys who fled their homes in southern sudan during the sudanese civil war of the 1980s after arab militias attacked their villages. they walked hundreds of miles on a frightening journey to safety.   many died from starvation, disease and attacks by humans and animals along the way. those who survived made it to refugee camps in ethiopia.  one of these "lost boys" and dave eggers have now collaborated in a novel blending fact and imagination called "what is the what." in it eggers describes the many traumas the children faced during their travels. sounds interesting, thanks for the tip   and to answer your question: no i can't imagine how hard that would be.