Read: July 15, 2016
Summary: Hyeonseo Lee’s childhood was spent in North Korea under the secretive regime of their government. She did have some exposure to the world beyond North Korea while living with her family in a small town on the border with China. As the famine of 1990s hit North Korea, Hyeonseo began questioning the world she knew. At 17, she escaped and realized she couldn’t return and that it would take a number of years and a second troublesome journey before she would reunite with her family again.
My Thoughts: This was a very fascinating read. I enjoyed taking the journey with the author and reading through the struggles as she escaped and adjusted to life after leaving North Korea. There were comparisons in the book that made her struggle and life seem a little easier that what would, I think, be typical of leaving North Korea. I watched Hyseonseo’s TedTalk speech on YouTube which also featured some other North Korean stories.
