A review by marshaskrypuch
Swimming to Freedom: An Untold Story of Escaping China and the Cultural Revolution by Kent Wong

5.0

Reading a memoir from this survivor of Mao's China makes me thankful for everyday comforts, freedoms and dignities that people in the west often take for granted. Kent Wong and his family lived through the horrors of mass repression during the Hundred Flowers Campaign, then the starvation of 36 million during the Great Leap Forward (chillingly similar to Stalin's first 5 year plan and the Holodomor), and years later, the Cultural Revolution. Determined to find freedom for himself and his family, Kent becomes one of the thousands of young people who try to escape by swimming to Hong Kong, and when he fails and is imprisoned, he tries again and again. He finally succeeds and ends up coming to the US, being accepted into Harvard Medical School and becoming a physician. Such hard work and determination. I highly recommend this enthralling book!
Thank you #netgally