Lulu in the Sky: A Daughter of Cambodia Finds Love, Healing, and Double Happiness

Daughter of Cambodia #3

by Loung Ung

Concluding the trilogy that started with the bestselling memoir First They Killed My Father , Loung Ung describes her college experience and her first steps into adulthood, revealing her struggle to reconcile with her past while moving forward towards happiness. After the violence of the Khmer Rouge and the difficult assimilation experience of a refugee, Loung’s daily struggle to keep darkness, anger, and depression at bay will finally find two unexpected allies: the empowering call of activism, and the redemptive power of love. Lulu in the Sky is the story of Loung’s journey to a Cambodian village to reconnect with her mother’s spirit; to a vocation that will literally allow her to heal the landscape of her birth; and to the transformative influence of a supportive marriage to a loving man.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Asia, History, Biography, Autobiography, War

330 pages, Paperback

First published April 17, 2012

About the author

Loung Ung is a Cambodian-American human-rights activist, lecturer and national spokesperson for the Campaign for a Landmine-Free World from 1997 to 2003. She has served in the same capacity for the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, which is affiliated with the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation.
Born in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Ung was the sixth of seven children and the third of four girls to Seng Im Ung and Ay Choung Ung. At the age of 10, she escaped from Cambodia as a survivor of what became known as "the Killing Fields" during the reign of Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge regime. After being resettled as a refugee to United States, she eventually wrote two books which related to her life experiences from 1975 through 2003.

Reviews

[Candi Sary · Rating 5 out of 5]

First they Killed My Father is one of my favorite books. It's a heartbreaking memoir, but exceptionally powerful coming from a young girl's perspective of the Cambodian genocide. Lulu in the Sky, Ung's third memoir, is the story of her adult life, and how she finds her way toward healing. Her story is fascinating and she tells it with such honesty and heart. After all she had to endure as a child, I was happy to read that she found love with a kind and patient man, and that she eventually found her own sense of peace. I especially loved reading about her trips back to Cambodia. In her first book, the country was a terrifying place while the Khmer Rouge was in power. But in Lulu in the Sky, Ung returns to a peaceful place where life is simple, families are close, and the people are compassionate. There is a scene at a wedding where poor children come to eat the leftovers when the guests are done eating. Ung's auntie welcomes the children and gladly shares, even giving out plastic bags so they could take food home to their families. Ung's auntie tells her, "During Pol Pot time, I had nothing to eat so I know what hunger feels like." Lulu in the Sky shows how Ung uses her own knowledge of hunger and suffering to become an activist and a powerful voice for human rights. Loung Ung is an admirable woman and this is an admirable book. I'm grateful she chose to share her story with the world.

[Felecia Stuart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loung has a way of making me go from crying on the train to a huge smile on my face within a span of 30 seconds. Her first book affected me for months. I couldn't read anything else, everywhere I turned I saw things that reminded me of her past, I would start crying at random times because I remembered something. I was heartbroken that this actually happened and that it was so recent. With each of her books, I find more inspiration in this woman. She's got an incredible story to tell and I think everyone needs to know it. So just read it.

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book free thru Goodreads First Reads Giveaway.

When I first saw this book as a giveaway I entered it as fast as I can. I think there were only about 5 copies they were giving away and i prayed that I would win it and I did. The reason why I entered for this book was because since I'm a Cambodian person myself, I'm more than willing to learn more about my culture. If you dont know by now, Cambodia was torn by war and my parents were actually part of it when Cambodia was invaded. They were able to escape and come to the United States to have me. When I was old enough i was able to find out what happened to Cambodia and why my parents had to leave their hometown in the first place. After that I never asked them what happened because even though my parents never said "I dont want to talk about it" I can feel their uneasiness so I let it go. Lulu in the sky is a memoir about an actual Cambo girl who survived the Khmer Rouge and was able to tell her story. By reading her story I was able to see the war from her eyes and I was also able to see how much she suffered when she came to the United States. I felt her pain as I read her story because one reason why she got into so many fights with her boyfriend now husband Mark was because she couldnt clear her mind of the war. I think my parents were like that too. I'll never miss a chance to find a book about my culture and read it. I was so happy I was one of the 5 who won this book and I hope I can find some more books about my culture.

[Baljit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading this final book in the trilogy makes me want to reread the first and second books.
I get emotional picturing scene of Loung’s mother telling Loung and her siblings to go away. This must have been so v hard fir mother, who instinctively wants to comfort and protect her young kids. And so hard for Loung to come to terms to, the feeling of abandonment lasts years.
To be accepted in American society and given great opportunities is considered a lottery but your peers cannot phantom anything about where u have come from and the trauma you have been through, forces any young person to bury their pain in order to blend in and move forward.

[Naomi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book as part of a book award I won, and the book took place and had a lot to do with Saint Michael’s college in Vermont, which was who I got the award from.
The author was such a good writer and easily hooked me into the story. So many powerful themes were covered in the story. The book flew by honestly and I was always surprised how far into it I was.
This book was part of a memoir trilogy, and it was the last book. I had not read the other two books. Honestly, it was not necessary to read the previous ones because she painted such a good picture of her history.
I also enjoyed reading her reasoning why she wrote this particular book in the back of the book. Overall, great read!

[Faidz Zainal Abidin · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5*

[Dina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the first two books by this author, the first of which tells of her horrific years of her childhood from ages 5 to 10 under the Khymer Rouge rule in Cambodia. It is an extremely raw but powerful book told from the eyes of the child she was at that time.

The second book tells of her leaving for the US with her oldest brother as a refugee and parallel the life of her sister Chou who remained in Cambodia.

I was hesitant to read this book at first, thinking that it would just tell of a young girl, trying to forget the past and live in the US, but I was wrong. She tells of her struggle to live in the US, with her strong memories of the past haunting her. It tells of friendships, nightmares, and the way she finally put much of them to rest by writing her story. It tells of the strength she gained from her family in Cambodia (siblings, grandmother, nieces, nephews, etc), and the amazingly supportive man who eventually became her husband, and finding her vocation in dealing with UXOS.

It is a powerful book and I strongly recommend it.

[Asra Syed]

The third and final book in her series: FTKMF is about her connection with her father and focuses on her anger towards Pol Pot and Khmer Rouge, so it’s much darker, especially in how she blames her mother for sending her and her siblings away to orphanage camps. This book details how she overcomes a lot of this and feels cathartic, especially near the end as she comes to terms with her mother’s huge sacrifice and realizes her mother’s strength.
(Use pages 284-6, 230 to contrast the tone of this book with the scene in FTKMF when she is wrongly blaming her mother for dying)

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Relatable (I'm obviously biased here), poignant, and hilarious -- all at once. In this third book, Ung delves deeper into her internal, personal struggles through assimilation that clash with her trying to live up to cultural traditions and familial upbringing. She finds her identity through her work as well as her past history. Her literary voice is both humble and thought-provoking as she carries the reader through her journey to finding and accepting love, and diving into activism to redeem the pain she suffered from her past. Absolutely inspirational and uplifting!

[Patrick McCoy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was curious to read Loung Ung's story about how she became an activist and how she came to write her first book, First They Killed My Father, in Lulu in the Sky: A Daughter of Cambodia Find Love, Healing, and Double Happiness (2014). However, I have to admit the first third of the book about her time at Saint Michael's College and her crush on classmate Mark (whom she eventually married) was a bit of a chore to get through. I thought it got more interesting when she recalled her experiences working for an anti-land mine NPO and returning to spend lengthy amounts of time in Cambodia to visit families and records stories of people who survived the genocide. I supposed the content of this book is far less dramatic than the previous two, but it is good to get a sense of closure about her experience of surviving the Khmer Rouge work camps to a happy successful life as a writer/activist and living with the trauma of surviving such horrific experiences.

[Aidana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, the trilogy is complete!

The first book stood out as the most powerful and educational for me, but the other two are equally compelling and highly recommended. Loung’s journey is remarkable. She approaches her story with both humility and a critical eye toward herself. As she reflects, she has witnessed the depths of man's inhumanity, but by the third book, her story evolves into one of hope, highlighting the very best of humanity through love, family, and friendship.

“Memoirs bring the numbers of casualties to a human face. We often hear about how many hundred thousand killed in Darfur, and two million in Cambodia. All these big numbers. A memoir brings it down to a family, a face, a story, a brother, a father.. it breaks down that barrier of what is Cambodia, Vietnam, Sierra Leone, Darfur - to a father, a mother, a brother, a sister.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This third book in Loung Ung's family memoir series tells the story of her family in Cambodia. She tells the story of her grandmother - a woman of Chinese descent, who fled China and ended up in Cambodia after WWII. Because she only spoke Chinese, her children became bilingual - Khmer and Chinese. She raised her children in Phnom Phen. Lulu (Luong) was among those who fled Phnom Phen in 1975 when the Khmer Rouge forced People to leave the city because of possible American bombings. They were then worked, starved and executed by their own people. Lulu came to the United States in 1981 as a refugee and began being a tri-lingual individual. She has trouble figuring out where she really belongs.
This is a very detailed and touching life story.

[Ashley LaMontagne · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I began the final book to Ung's trilogy, I honestly questioned what more there really was to the story. I was of the mindset that this would just kind of reiterate the stories told in the first two books, but I was still curious. I'm so glad I read it. This book made me cry harder than the first two combined.

I have to credit Ung on her fact-checking and consistent use of historical references, but I also applaud her for her ability to tell her own history, and for having been able to rewrite her own story as she needed to. Damn. What a book.

[Ames Magoo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book provided the reader with insight into the consequences and aftermath of the Cambodian Genocide. Ung's story captures her journey from her homeland, to America and shares the realities of life as a survivor of war and being stuck in between the pressures of living up to her family's expectations and her longing to fit into the American society, all while attempting to process the trauma and loss that she has endured. Such an incredible book and a woman of so much strength and love. She is an inspiration!

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although the book lags a bit in a couple spots, like Loung taking over ten years to decide to marry Mark and the ups and downs of that relationship, it is a truly great memoir continuing from her previous book, Lucky Child. I loved learning about Cambodia's history as well as the Ung family. No matter how painful and horrible her story, Ms Ung has offered her gift to us, forcing us to witness her life and courage in the telling, as well as her healing. I don't know that I would be able to do so.

[Orla Hegarty · Rating 5 out of 5]

The final book in this powerful trilogy gives witness to how Ms. Ung worked through the devastating trauma she and some of her family lived through.

I feel so grateful to have not only visited Cambodia but also to have then had the opportunity to get to know Ms. Ung and her family through these memoirs. It has added a deep and wide perspective to my life and activism that I will always cherish.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

How incredibly painful this trilogy must have been for the author to write but I am honored she chose to share her story through the pain because I agree with her. Americans just don't know or understand what happened in Cambodia during the Vietnam War and Khmer Rouge horror. I know more now, understand more, about those events as well as what its like being a refugee in the United States. Thank you, Ms. Ung.

[Amelia King · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great way to finish off the trilogy. Focuses on her family, her mother, her husband, and overcoming her trauma more. I loved being able to follow the love story between her and Mark. I don't think this book was quite as good as the others, but it was still worth the read. My favorite in the series is probably "Lucky Child" and this has been one of my favorite trilogies. I have learned so much and Loung Ung is a truly talented writer.

[Ainsley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely one of the best novels I have laid my hands on. I am not a huge fan of autobiographies or memoirs because they can get quite redundant, but Loung knocked this out of the park. Her writing carries so much emotion and feeling; she takes you back in time with her. For a memoir, this novel was surprisingly a page-turner. Loung’s story is gut-wrenching, but is written in a way that allows her readers to find a new appreciation for their lives.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars.

Part memoir, part creative non-fiction, Ung wrote of her family during the horror of Khmer Rouge in Cambodia and her own personal struggles and pain as a result of war. I found this book at a library book sale. I have not read her first two books of this trilogy. I recommend this book.

[Katie F Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was blown away by Ung’s past two books but this didn’t do it as much for me, although I can’t pinpoint why. I think because the last two I learned a lot more about Cambodia and the events that occurred during the Khmer Rouge’s reign. It was still really good though. I would recommend this full trilogy.

[Allison Dunlap · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful writer, an incredible journey, great lessons in bridging cultural differences and understanding a person's history,. An intimate glimpse into one woman's healing with universal application to all. I loved it.

[Carmen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The third and final story in her biography about a family in Cambodia. The raw emotions come through loud and clear. Like many stories set against a war background, there is a lot of sorrow. But this story also features new life. Working through the memories.

[Sonia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m invested in Loung’s life after all that she endured at a young age. I love how she shared in this book about her college experience, facing her trauma, writing her first book and embracing love. The book was really inspiring - I’m glad she found the cause she wanted to fight for.

[George Lai · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just as good as her first two books and nicely links them all together.

[Nancy A Faussett · Rating 5 out of 5]

The last book in her autobiography.... an excellent read...

[Jasmine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good. Now I feel like I should read the first 2 she wrote as well.

[Sherry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant book filled with vivid writing and insightful dive to Cambodia's past. Excited to read the rest of Loung's books.

[Lizzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m so sad this is her final book

[Crystal M · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the last book in the trilogy about lounge life. It covers her PTSD, relationship with her husband, her wedding, and her trips back to Cambodia.