Overview

One of seven children of a high-ranking government official, Loung Ung lived a privileged life in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh until the age of five. Then, in April 1975, Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge army stormed into the city, forcing Ung's family to flee and, eventually, to disperse. Loung was trained as a child soldier in a work camp for orphans, her siblings were sent to labor camps, and those who survived the horrors would not be reunited until the Khmer Rouge was destroyed. Harrowing yet hopeful, Loung's powerful story is an unforgettable account of a family shaken and shattered, yet miraculously sustained by courage and love in the face of unspeakable brutality.

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Reviews

Ung's memoir should serve as a reminder that some history is best not left just to historians but to those left standing when the terror ends.-- Booklist Starred Review A harrowing true story of the nightmare world that was Cambodia in those terrible times of mass murder and slow death through overwork, starvation, and disease. Will affect even readers who cannot find Ungs homeland on a map. -- Kirkus Reviews It's a tough read, but definitely a worthwhile one, and the author's personality and strength shine through on every page. -- Amazon.com Skillfully constructed, this account also stands as an eyewitness history of the period, because as a child Ung was so aware of her surroundings and because as an adult writer she adds details to clarify the family's moves and separations. -- Publishers Weekly Ung relates her experience in the present tense, and Tavia Gilbert takes us on that journey with a superb performance that includes a myriad of emotions--from audible crying to fear and anger...[and] she certainly captures the emotional experience. -- AudioFile Ung's memoir should serve as a reminder that some history is best not left just to historians but to those left standing when the terror ends. -- Booklist (starred review)

"Ung's memoir should serve as a reminder that some history is best not left just to historians but to those left standing when the terror ends.-- ""Booklist Starred Review"" ""A harrowing true story of the nightmare world that was Cambodia in those terrible times of mass murder and slow death through overwork, starvation, and disease. Will affect even readers who cannot find Ungs homeland on a map."" -- ""Kirkus Reviews"" ""It's a tough read, but definitely a worthwhile one, and the author's personality and strength shine through on every page."" -- ""Amazon.com"" ""Skillfully constructed, this account also stands as an eyewitness history of the period, because as a child Ung was so aware of her surroundings and because as an adult writer she adds details to clarify the family's moves and separations."" -- ""Publishers Weekly"" ""Ung relates her experience in the present tense, and Tavia Gilbert takes us on that journey with a superb performance that includes a myriad of emotions--from audible crying to fear and anger...[and] she certainly captures the emotional experience."" -- ""AudioFile"" ""Ung's memoir should serve as a reminder that some history is best not left just to historians but to those left standing when the terror ends."" -- ""Booklist (starred review)"""

Author Information

Loung Ung is a national spokesperson for the Campaign for a Landmine Free World, a program of the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation, and the author of Lucky Child: A Daughter of Cambodia Reunites with the Sister She Left Behind. Loung lives with her husband in Ohio. Tavia Gilbert is an acclaimed narrator of more than four hundred full-cast and multivoice audiobooks for virtually every publisher in the industry. Named the 2018 Voice of Choice by Booklist magazine, she is also winner of the prestigious Audie Award for best narration. She has earned numerous Earphones Awards, a Voice Arts Award, and a Listen-Up Award. Audible.com has named her a Genre-Defining Narrator: Master of Memoir. In addition to voice acting, she is an accomplished producer, singer, and theater actor. She is also a producer, singer, photographer, and a writer, as well as the cofounder of a feminist publishing company, Animal Mineral.

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