Soul Survivors: Stories of Women and Children in Cambodia

by Carol Wagner, Jack Kornfield (Foreword), Valentina Du Basky (Photographer)

Soul Survivors gives voice to the women and children who stayed in Cambodia after the genocide (1975-1979), when nearly two million people died from execution, starvation, or disease. It includes the stories of two refugees who came to the US as orphans, returning as young adults to help their country. These engaging personal narratives reveal that hope and kindness survived the darkest period of Cambodia's recent history.

Sixty-four photographs draw the reader into contemporary Cambodia to witness the survivors' courageous work to rebuild their lives, families, and culture in one of the poorest nations in the world. Soul Survivors includes a chronology of Cambodian history, a map, and an index. Additional chapters describe the Khmer Rouge, the role of the US, the landmine situation, and the Buddhist peace movement.

Genres: Nonfiction

259 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2002

Reviews

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've not read much about the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, the first being In the Shadow of the Banyan by Vaddey Ratner. I kept returning to Ratner's fictionalized memoirs as I read these stories.

I can't say that I'm impressed with much of the U.S. involvement in Cambodia. We fought in Vietnam against communism, yet supported it in Cambodia? Eventually we decided to extradite Polpot, but we're in a good place for that, considering we dropped hundreds of tons of bombs on them. We decided to try the Khmer Rouge for crimes against humanity; what about our crimes against Cambodia? What about our role in supporting the Khmer Rouge?

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Opened my eyes to a horrible period of time for the country of Cambodia that I virtually knew nothing about. These brave women that moved on with their lives are heros!