First They Killed My Father

About “First They Killed My Father”

Loung Ung, a survivor of the Cambodian genocide under Pol Pot's regime, recounts her experiences in a memoir that details the war crimes and desperate choices faced by her family. Born into a family of seven children, she lived a privileged life in Phnom Penh until the Khmer Rouge took control in April 1975. Her family was forced to flee, and they were separated. Loung was trained as a child soldier in a work camp for orphans, while her siblings were sent to labor camps. The family was not reunited until the fall of the Khmer Rouge. Her story is a harrowing yet hopeful account of survival, courage, and love in the face of extreme brutality.