Loung Ung book

Sometimes I am naive to the happenings of worldly things.

I am aware of things that happened during WWII

and Vietnam because my family was affected by these

world tragedies. When it comes to some things in

other parts of the world that happened in my lifetime,

I really am uneducated.

Hence, the reason for this blog.

Upon one of my scouts to the library this summer

I come across this book:

FIRST THEY KILLED MY FATHER

LOUNG UNG

I was intrigued by the title and the synopsis so I brought it

home for a visit.

While reading it I was disheartened to think that this

happened in the 70's which means I was old enough

to realize this was happening yet I had no clue, no idea

that these things were going on in other parts of the world.

Loung Ung was a 5 year old girl during the Cambodian crises.

She was born into a large family in Phnom Penh,

her father, being a government official, called for a rich lifestyle.

Yet, in April of 1975 all this changed when the armies stormed

her home city and they became not only peasants but

tortured and imprisoned for many years.

There were times that I actually had to put the book aside

because it became too intense for me to believe that things

like this still happens.

The author writes in such great detail that you can almost

feel and smell the happenings in her life.

Her words on how hunger felt as a young girl

wants me to go out and feed someone.

She writes with such intensity as she explains how

she lost her immediate family and how much they suffered.

This book has changed how I feel inside about the corruption

of other countries and once again makes me

proud to be part of the USA.

Not for the weak-hearted but highly recommended read

for those who, like me, believe sometimes that all the world

lives as privileged as we do.