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.

Really enjoyed this glimpse into a North Korean escapee's survival. Her story is riveting, and a testament to her force of will. Well written and nicely paced. Highly recommend.

This is a personal memoir of the author’s journey to freedom. It begins by recounting her early life under tyrannical rule in North Korea, providing one of the most personal and depressing portraits of life under that regime I’ve ever read. Presumably other readers will be as shocked and horrified as I was to learn about activities we would find unthinkable but North Koreans are forced to accept as just a part of daily life. Even linguistic repressions are in equal parts fascinating and terrifying. But the book then goes on to describe the author’s escape from that hell on earth at the of only thirteen years (and at the weight of only sixty pounds!). Unfortunately the journey through hell wasn’t over as she’d escaped one hell directly into the hands of human traffickers in China. It was only after a period of more years, fully detailed in these pages, that she eventually made her way to freedom first in South Korea and eventually in the United States. Though the book is undeniably a fascinating and harrowing read, some have raised questions of its accuracy, and I think that’s an issue that should be addressed. This book is not a work of academic scholarship, but a personal memoir, and should be read as such. Minor errors of fact and slight inconsistencies do exist, as the book’s coauthor freely acknowledges and attributes to the author’s imperfect recollection of childhood memories and (at the time of the book’s publication) relatively weak English. If you’re planning to use the book for academic purposes, claims should be verified against independent sources, but if you’re reading the book to get a personal look into the life of one North Korean defector, you’ll find the book both useful and accurate on all points where it counts. With regard to more aggressive critics who try to call the entire story into question, coauthor Maryanne Vollers attributes those claims to an organized effort by the North Korean regime to discredit her claims. Regardless of what one thinks of the accuracy of some of the book’s claims—and I am not expert enough to validate every line of the book—it’s undoubtedly one of the most important books I’ve read in a long time because it provides a portrait of a country into which most of us have few opportunities to peer and helps us to understand not only abstractly or academically but personally what it’s like to live under the kind of repressive regime most of us are fortunate enough to have never individually witnessed.

Story itself: WOW. One of so few that has come out of North Korea. I've read my fair share of books/stories about abusive regimes as a history teacher who is constantly trying to educate myself in the little details, but this particular regime is a whole new level of evil. This story in particular was eye opening because it was an overview of many different social situations in North Korea, all in one woman's personal experience. She experienced the highs and the lows: what it was like to be poor, then well-off, then the daughter of a criminal, and finally her escape. Writing style: not horrible, but not brilliant. If you're someone who really loves a well-written book, this isn't your book. The plot is great, it's a true story, no issues there. But everyone loves books for different reasons, and if writing style is one of the main reasons you love to read, this probably isn't your book. Age group: for sure a mature audience. The writing is pretty approachable for even a middle school level, but I would NOT hand this to anyone younger than college. It has multiple mentions of rape, horrific treatment of humans, bullying, starvation, dead bodies, etc. It's horrific. Rightly so, it's a true story about something horrific. But readers be aware.

What an incredible brave book for this young lady to write . I wept many times not at what happened but how resilient and smart she is . A must read for anyone . Everybody needs to know how horrible , backwards and delusional current North Korea is .

I’m not good at writing reviews. Sometimes simple is best. I couldn’t put the book down. I usually read fantasy, horror, graphic novels etc. etc. I also read history. This is out of my norm. I recommend this book to everyone. It is a harrowing story that, at times, I couldn’t believe is someone’s lived reality. There are some Korean terms I had trouble with but thankfully Yeonmi explained in detail after each use.

A shocking & eye open book. Written by a brave young lady. We saw an interview she did & wanted to read her book. It's very eye opening about the direction certain individuals had been trying to take our country

Yeonmi has a very light story telling style and her story is gripping and informative, but at the same time nothing unexpected and much lighter than i personally expected it to be. She tells her story from a place of hope and victory, which makes the book informative without being harrowing or pushing the reader into any conclusions. Your opinion remains your own. At the same time it was very confrontational and unsettling to realize that we were in similar locations around the same time, each experiencing completely opposing lives and may have even crossed eachothers paths on more than one occassion. It's a small world and we don't get to choose our starting point in life. This book is both grounding and inspirational. If it doesn't provide food for thought or spark some conversations, I suggest you read it again.

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 :(