"Chanrithy Him has unrolled the reels of her memory to give us this heart-wrenching memoir of surviving life under the Khmer Rouge." "In the Cambodian proverb, "when broken glass floats" is the time when evil triumphs over good. In 1969 the war in Vietnam threw Cambodia into political chaos and Chanrithy and her family relocated to Phnom Penh. When the brutal Khmer Rouge took power in 1975, the Him family was forced violently from their home once again.".

"In a mesmerizing story, Chanrithy vividly recounts her trek through the hell of the "killing fields". She gives us a child's-eye view of a Cambodia where rudimentary labor camps for both adults and children are the norm and modern technology, including cars and electricity, no longer exists. Death becomes a companion in the camps, along with illness. Yet through the terror, the members of Chanrithy's family remain loyal to one another despite the Khmer Rouge's demand of loyalty only to itself.

Chanrithy's own courage and willpower keep her alive against all odds." "In 1979, "broken glass" finally sinks. The Vietnamese invade Cambodia and drive the Khmer Rouge from power. From a family of twelve, five of the Him children survive. Chanrithy is only sixteen when she and her siblings, sponsored by an uncle in Oregon, begin their new lives in a land that promises welcome to those starved for freedom."--BOOK JACKET.