First They Killed My Father is a heart-gripping memoir which highlights the experience of Luong Ung during the Khmer Rouge. Written with a raw perspective into how she dealt everyday as a five year-old going through war, the nonfiction book truly touches people’s hearts with the resilience of the human spirit in the face of unimaginable trauma. 

The Khmer Rouge was a regime that happened in Cambodia in the mid-1970’s resulting in a life beautiful and ideal turning to laborious and cruel. This all happened because of Pol Pot, a notorious Cambodian leader who tried to maintain Cambodia free of urban influences. 

His vision resulted in a forced relocation of millions to rural labor camps where they dealt with starvation, torture, and execution. Luong Ung is a survivor of this catastrophic period, but she faced the most risk because her father was a government official, making him a potential threat to the Khmer Rouge’s mission. 

As a young girl in Phnom Penh, the last thing she expected was for her life to completely change overnight. Her family was forced from her home in the city and spent multiple days walking in dreadful heat to find the labor camp. Through Ung’s innocent eyes, we see the violence and terror that she had to face on a daily basis. 

But, it wasn’t just strangers that she saw deceased— it was even her own father. This is where Ung gets the title First They Killed My Father, referring to the moments of her father being executed and marking the start of her maturity at such a young age.

As a Chinese-Cambodian American, reading this book truly gave me a realistic point of view of what my family went through when they were Luong’s age which is why it holds a special place in my heart. Her writing is simplistic, yet tells more than just a story and holds unfathomable meaning to any readers. 

“On previous trips the pirates have stolen valuables, killed people, raped and abducted girls…the women work frantically to ugly themselves up by smearing black charcoal paste on their faces and bodies. With ashen faces, some of the younger, prettier girls reach into the bags we have vomited into and scoop out handfuls of it to smear on their hair and clothes.”This quote perfectly sums up the experiences Luong and her family had to go through, and it is absolutely heartbreaking. It wasn’t just a fear of being killed, but witnessing her family be sexually abused and killed right in front of her eyes. 

One of the most striking themes in the book is the unbreakable bond between Luong and her family. Her love for her siblings and determination to survive is central to the narrative. Her ability to easily adapt and beat the odds of survival shows the power of humans and is truly an example of perseverance. 

Throughout the memoir, Luong’s experience resembles how the Khmer Rouge’s policies completely tore apart families, communities, and even Cambodian society and culture as a whole. Recounting many events that would be difficult to comprehend, her voice still remains poignant, continuously raising her voice to spread awareness about the Khmer Rouge. 

First They Killed My Father is more than just a memoir, it’s a profound exploration of trauma, maturity, survival, and resilience. Her narrative truly brings light to the brutalities of Cambodian Genocide and remembrance for this historical time to never be forgotten.