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A review by anaffpereira
In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl's Journey to Freedom by Yeonmi Park, Maryanne Vollers
5.0
Impactful, important, and moving.
I had a little knowledge about North Korea’s oppressive regime, but through this autobiography I have learned new things (most of them terrible and hurtful). This book has touched me, and many passages will be forever in my memory.
The book depicts, of course, Park’s distressing quest for freedom, but it was so shocking learning that she didn’t even know the concept of freedom: “I wasn't dreaming of freedom when I escaped from North Korea. I didn't even know what it meant to be free. All I knew was that if my family stayed behind, we would probably die – from starvation, from disease, from the inhuman conditions of a prison labor camp. (…) I was willing to risk my life for the promise of a bowl of rice.”
These memories have been eye-opening for me, and even though this book made me cry and feel distressed, I will always remember this: “(…) I also know that the spark of human dignity is never completely extinguished, and that given the oxygen of freedom and the power of love, it can grow again.”
I had a little knowledge about North Korea’s oppressive regime, but through this autobiography I have learned new things (most of them terrible and hurtful). This book has touched me, and many passages will be forever in my memory.
The book depicts, of course, Park’s distressing quest for freedom, but it was so shocking learning that she didn’t even know the concept of freedom: “I wasn't dreaming of freedom when I escaped from North Korea. I didn't even know what it meant to be free. All I knew was that if my family stayed behind, we would probably die – from starvation, from disease, from the inhuman conditions of a prison labor camp. (…) I was willing to risk my life for the promise of a bowl of rice.”
These memories have been eye-opening for me, and even though this book made me cry and feel distressed, I will always remember this: “(…) I also know that the spark of human dignity is never completely extinguished, and that given the oxygen of freedom and the power of love, it can grow again.”