In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl's Journey to Freedom

I wonder from time to time I wonder if I would survive in a hostile environment with no support from anyone and no resources except what I could manufacture for myself. The author of this book and her mother were made of steel. They survived physical and emotional adversaries, such as I could not ever imagine. But they are only two people among the millions of others who are suffering also. Even when they reached their promised land of South Korea, they were not always welcomed with joy and respect. I think about the many people in refugee camps. The Somalians, who have suffered through horrible famine and oppression. The people of South Sudan. Most of all reading a book like this makes me feel like trying harder to help and yet feeling quite helpless in the face of all this misery. And yet if you look at the photos at the end of this narrative, you see how people find joy and happiness somewhere. They find community. The photos actually were taken during the time when her father was prospering, but even when they were starving and everything was going so wrong for the family, they found happiness in their love for each other. This is a book well worth reading.

One may think this book is just about how the author escaped North Korea when she was 13 years old, but it's SO MUCH more than that. There is history sprinkled throughout the overall tale of her life, but done so in a nonintrusive way. Never does it feel like the reader is cracking open a text books, as Park Yeonmi writes it in a way that the history you need to know for the certain events is explained while the event is going on. It's very clever, informative, and dare I say entertaining. While the main purpose is to get the word out about the horrors she experienced, Ms. Park (and her co-author) phrase it in a way where it's almost like a narrative so it's easier to read. I feel this a huge accomplishment given the heavy subject matter and compare it how Elie Wiesel wrote "Night". I shouldn't have to explain that this isn't light reading, as the events that take place in this book really happened and are STILL happening, but I let me warn you regardless. Ms. Park story is nothing short of a holocaust, one that's been going on for decades. So yes, while she is a good writer, this still is heavy reading. Even still: buy this. Read this. It's important to spread Park Yeonmi's message and help her in some small way in her human-rights efforts.

Very interesting true story. I was intrigued by the country, the culture, the injustices that all happened, which often seemed unbelievable if you have never experienced anything Iike it.

Overall good writing that focuses on the author's family and the atmosphere of the places she has been. The contrast of her earliest memories as a member of a family that was doing fine, even well at times, to one of abject poverty and social rejection after her father's arrest is very well done. Most of what she tells is through the eyes of a twenty or twenty-one year old recalling childhood memories and times of trauma, and she does acknowledge this at times with little off-the-cuff sounding remarks. Well organized and, as a memoir should be, holding a specific focus on parts of her life, I think this is a solid read. Not really enjoyable given the content, but very readable. As to the criticisms of the author and her story, I'm neither surprised nor concerned. North Korea produced a newsreel like denunciation of her that featured her remaining relatives saying all the things dictatorships make people say in propaganda, and much of her media attention in the United States has been from and amongst political conservatives. She's critical of socialism and communism and has won few friends in recent times as a result. There's as much saying she is being honest and accurate to her experiences as there are people finding small inconsistencies in some places and larger ones in others but never outright declaring her actual story a complete falsehood. It's a memoir, and so I find no meaning in arguing how much is perfectly recalled or discussed. I don't have the answers so I work with what is here, and what is here is well described and organized. Won't highly recommend it, but I've seen some people suggest it for early college class readings and that sounds like solid advice for anyone studying memoir writing or character writing generally. four stars.

This book is absolutely unforgettable. Yeonmi Park’s story of survival, courage, and the pursuit of freedom is both heartbreaking and incredibly inspiring. It provides a raw, eye-opening look at life in North Korea and the harrowing journey of a defector. It changed my perspective on the world and made me realize how much I take for granted. Every person should read this.

Inspiring and motivating. Loved reading it.

I am in awe of this woman and all others who made it. The book is perfectly written in my opinion, a fast, exiting and ultimately an inspiring and motivational read. So many real life lessons from someone so young. I recommend it highly.

Starving as a child in an utterly deprived society; crossing the Yalu river to reach China, only to be sold in sexual slavery there; inching through the Gobi desert barefoot towards freedom: still in her early twenties, Yaonmi Park has lived through harrowing experiences just "in order to know what it means to be free." I gave this book the highest mark, not only for the merits of such an epic journey, but because of the the abundance of concrete details it provides about everyday life in one of the most secluded societies in the world. I knew practically nothing about North Korea. Thanks to Yaonmi Park I can now vividly imagine what it takes to survive in such a an unforgiving environment where the struggle for life consumes every part of your energy. Yaonmi Park has become a proud freedom fighter. Her book might be the first nail in the coffin of an unsustainable communist regime.

Beautiful book. Such a great read. Thanks, Yeonmi.

The book came with a bent cover. This is the second time recently that a book comes with a damaged cover :(