Reviews tagging 'Slavery'

In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl's Journey to Freedom by Yeonmi Park, Maryanne Vollers

35 reviews

gracie_reads_everything's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

A very powerful and moving story about a North Korean defector turned human rights advocate. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Trafficking, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Police brutality, and Violence

Moderate: Chronic illness, Cancer, Rape, Slavery, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Medical trauma, Domestic abuse, Classism, Emotional abuse, and Sexism

Minor: Gore, Stalking, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Religious bigotry, Torture, Miscarriage, Infidelity, and Fire/Fire injury

Biography, autobiography, memoir, North Korea, human rights, powerful

mmontemurro's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

This was a gripping memoir of Yeonmi Park's harrowing journey out of North Korea. She describes her childhood in a country where having no food for days on end was commonplace, and how they would eat dragonflies for protein when they had nothing else. She describes seeing dead bodies on the side of the road - people who had died of starvation. Her father was taken to a hard labor camp after being caught selling "illegal" goods which in any other place would be considered legal. Her mother left to attempt to retrieve her father from prison, and she was left to care for herself and her sister. While others tried to help them, it sounded as though most people had little to give for food. I was shocked to hear about the government radios which had to be on at all times - it reminded me of 1984 where they were constantly watched and listened to. No one could be trusted but yourself. Her sister left for China, and eventually Yeonmi leaves with her mother too, to hopefully find a better life in China, and get her father out of North Korea. Yeonmi and her mother were trafficked for many years in China, and forced into marriages by Chinese brokers. They were considered second-class citizens - or really not citizens at all in China. Yeonmi secured a deal for herself as a young girl in order to get her mother and father, and hopefully her sister, who was missing, in exchange for becoming a mistress to one broker. She describes painful, terrible rape and having to endure that for her family. Eventually they leave with a Christian missionary group for South Korea. However dangerous, they do eventually make it to South Korea, and are able to become citizens there. Due to a lack in eduation in North Korea, Yeonmi is told that she will never amount to anything, never catch up to other classmates, and never go to university. She surpasses every goal by working extremely hard. Her story is incredible, and she has everlasting hope through all the bleak moments of her life. I hope that this story reaches many, and that her story can inspire others to understand the tragedy of North Korea and understand that anything is achieveable in this life. 

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Forced institutionalization, Slavery, Sexual assault, Deportation, Sexual violence, Rape, Death, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Pregnancy and Abortion

This book really captivated me from start to finish. I had heard of Yeonmi's story before from the numerous interviews she does, but I had not heard of some specific details about her family and her survival throughout her teenage years. It humbles me and I am grateful to live in a country where freedom is a right and I am able to achieve my goals without significant hardship or sacrifice. I am glad that after all the hardship Yeonmi endured, she was able to gain freedom and is now able to spread awareness and information to others.

livay's review

dark emotional informative sad fast-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Terminal illness, Drug abuse, Death, Alcoholism, Medical trauma, Child death, Xenophobia, Torture, Slavery, Cancer, Classism, Death of parent, Deportation, Rape, Sexual assault, Trafficking, Toxic relationship, and Adult/minor relationship

jbry44's review

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Death, Slavery, Trafficking, Medical trauma, War, Suicide, Death of parent, Rape, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Emotional abuse, and Pedophilia

eagerbones's review

dark emotional hopeful

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Pedophilia, Police brutality, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Slavery, Religious bigotry, Rape, Deportation, Genocide, Death, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Child abuse

Moderate: Death and Death of parent

Minor: Abandonment

axo17's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring sad tense medium-paced

4.75

Amazing personal account of her life in North Korea, China, and South Korea. It’s a dark truth, but overall I absolutely loved it. 

I included a lot of disclaimers. It’s a heavy read… lots of content that can be too much to handle at times. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Police brutality, Medical trauma, Body horror, Classism, Death, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Trafficking, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Grief, Kidnapping, Medical content, Domestic abuse, Gore, Self harm, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, and Torture

sabrinz's review against another edition

dark hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

3.0

This book was given to my by a friend as a present with the words "a friend recommended it to me and said it would make my cry!"

Needless to say, this book and the real story it conveys did make me cry. But not for the brutal honesty with which Yeonmi Park describes her journey to freedom (I was mainly too shocked and heartbroken), but the positive outlook on her future and what she is trying to do with her voice and her story.

Simpyl because of the nature of this joruney, it is not a light read, but very much worth it.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Trafficking, Slavery, Death of parent, Sexual violence, and Death

Minor: Suicide, Cancer, and Genocide

underthetreereads's review against another edition

dark informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

“In the free world, children dream about what they want to be when they grow up and how they can use their talents. When I was four and five years old, my only adult ambition was to buy as much bread as I liked and eat all of it.”

In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl’s Journey to Freedom by Yeonmi Park is a brutally eye opening memoir of human brutality and kindness. Yeonmi tells her story suffering under the North Korean regime, escaping to China only to be sold into human trafficking, and then finally making her way to freedom. Something I think was very unique (and yet not at all for so many) was her eventual understanding that even when she made it to South Korea, she still wasn’t free until she allowed herself to be free.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Slavery, Trafficking, and Violence

Moderate: Death of parent and Abortion

ell_n's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-paced

4.0

An incredible story, beautifully written 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Trafficking, Pedophilia, Self harm, Suicide, Death, Cancer, Rape, Abandonment, and Slavery

Moderate: War

graff_fuller's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

4.25

Do we ever really know why we pick up a book...and start reading it? Was it the cover? Was it the topic? Or could it be that we desire to know the story being told is going to TOUCH us...change the way we feel about [whatever the subject is]. 

I love biographies, but autobiographies are even better. "Straight from the horse's mouth", as they say.

The traumatic escape of Yeon-mi Park from N. Korea, to China, to Mongolia, to S. Korea, onward...to where she now lives in America.

The peak behind the curtain of what is actually going on in N. Korea is amazing (in a bad way). Also, to read about the propaganda machine that is at work in N. Korea...for 70+ years, so that not even S. Koreans know HOW different these two cultures are now.

To hear about empathy and love being devoid in the average N. Korean. Seeing public executions and dead people in the streets...as normal events. Being sold into slavery and prostitution, just to survive and escape...for slavery and prostitution are one thing, but HUNGER is worse. Anything, just to eat food.

None of us in the US can understand these things, which I'm glad for, but we need to educate ourselves. We do not agree with the leadership of N. Korea, but the people of N. Korea are enslaved, themselves to this dynasty and deserve our pity. The need to help other escape this hell hole...as Yeon-mi says, it is the DARKEST place on the earth. If you look at satellite photos of the area...there are very few lights, compared to the bordering countries...it looks like a black hole swallowed the entire country. Shortages of electricity, food, are necessities normal...and this is how the leadership keeps the people in check.

You really have to read it in her own words. She escaped when she was 13, but it wasn't until years later that she truly had freedom from the oppression that ALL people of N. Korea accept as NORMAL.

Share this story to your friends and family. It is a VERY sad tale, but she's come out of it, scars and all...and is trying to shine a light on N. Korea...so the world will come to its (the enslaved people who live in this country, under THIS regime) rescue.

I'm so happy that I picked this book up and read her story. There will be images that I won't be able to get out of my head, but maybe this will help people to help these downtrodden people.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual content, Violence, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Death, Trafficking, Bullying, Confinement, Death of parent, Deportation, Murder, Physical abuse, and Police brutality