Any book that makes me pour tears in the last chapter is worth five stars to me, and this book fit that bill to a tee. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the war in Cambodia with the Khmer Rouge opened a limited slots for one family to emigrate to Vermont. The quota only allows room for three: an older brother, his wife, and one sister. The rest of the family had to separate. Because of the war, not only travel, but the most-basic communication between the family is impossible for years. That’s hard on any family built around closeness and a strong communal ethic.
This story bounces back and forth, one chapter to the next, between points of view of the American sister and the Cambodian sister. Their lives evolve in parallel, each with their own struggles, each with their own pains. The author Loung Ung establishes a purposeful life through education in America, but had to suffer by being different from everyone else in her school. She eventually receives higher education at a Catholic college thanks to a full scholarship and becomes an advocate for those suffering hardships.
Her sister and their Cambodian family also have a story of their own. After years of struggle, they use their brother’s American money to establish a profitable business to establish meaningful lives after the war dies down. Of course, they all bear the costs of indiscriminate human destruction through the loss of their mother and father. This book does not hide any of the real costs faced.
Refugees will continue to be a tremendous global problem in coming decades. This book highlights the hardships and pains that journey bears in graphic, moving, and persuasive ways. Those who want to educate themselves about newer situations our world faces should read Ung’s story. It was so moving that it was even read on Cambodian radio with a warm reception. Refugees aren’t seeking a free ride, just a life where they have a stable home. Ung’s narrative demonstrates the perseverance it takes to become one and the inner strength refugees can inspire us all with. A masterful, emotional, all-too-human story!
Lucky Child: A Daughter of Cambodia Reunites with the Sister She Left Behind
By Loung Ung
Copyright (c) 2005
Harper Perennial
ISBN13 9780060733957
Page Count: 268
Genre: Memoir
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