Thursday, May 19, 2016

In Order to Live - Yeonmi Park

Not knowing much about North Korea, it was almost unbelievable to read this book about Yeonmi Park and her family.   Growing up they were taught to  believe that North Korea was the most perfect country in the world and its leaders were Gods, and that the rest of the world was evil and corrupt.  Yet for the Park family, things were not so simple.  Power failures and starvation were common, and after Yeonmis family is sent to a prison camp after being caught smuggling, things became dire for his wife and two young daughters left alone.

After her older sister escapes into China, Yeonmi and her mother decide to follow to seek a better life, naive to the risks involved and find themselves being trafficked.  So just when you think things may get better for them, things start to get very much worse.

An amazing memoir, that is hard to believe happens in a modern world, and certainly made me appreciate my easy life with a fridge full of food.  5/5

No comments: