“As I tell people about genocide, I get the opportunity to redeem myself. The chance to do something that’s worth my being alive. And the less the nightmares haunt me. ~ Loung Ung
FIRST THEY KILLED MY FATHER
Loung Ung was five years old when the Khmer Rouge army stormed into her city in April 1975, forcing her family to flee their home. For the next four years, the family hid their identities dispersed in order to survive. Without the protection of her family, Loung was trained as a child soldier in a work camp for orphans, her siblings were sent to labor camps, and those who survived the horrors would not be reunited until the Khmer Rouge was destroyed. Read FTKMF teaching guide
“I encourage everyone to read this deeply moving and very important book. Equal to the strength of the book, is the woman who wrote it. She is a voice for her people and they are lucky to have her.” – Angelina Jolie, UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador.
LUCKY CHILD
In this lyrical sequel to her bestselling, critically acclaimed memoir First They Killed My Father, Loung Ung describes her school years in Vermont as a Cambodian refugee and, in alternating chapters, gives voice to her sister’s experience as a genocide survivor left behind in rural Cambodia. This striking parallel of Loung’s life in America with her sister Chou’s life in postwar Cambodia highlights the harsh realities of chance and circumstances, both on a personal level for the Ung family and on a national level for all Cambodians.
“Lucky Child is a tender, searing journey of two sisters, two worlds, two destinies. It is about the long-term consequences of war—how it changes everything, annihilates, uproots, and separate families. And it is about how human triumph—building live wherever they land and finding their way back to each other.” ~ EVE ENSLER, author of The Vagina Monologues
LULU IN THE SKY
Lulu in the Sky, the last chapter in a life that began with her bestselling, critically acclaimed memoir First They Killed My Father, reveals Loung’s daily struggle to keep darkness and depression at bay and reconnects with her mother’s spirit and to a vocation that focuses on healing the landscape of her birth.
“Ung brings third and first world disparities into discomforting focus and gracefully dramatizes the metaphorical joining together of her haunted past and her current identity as a privileged Cambodian American. ~ Booklist (starred review)
Readers & Educators
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Reviews, excerpts, reading guides & classroom resources
BOOK REVIEWS & PRAISE
Reviews from the New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Booklist, and Publishers Weekly.
First They Killed My Father — Collin College’s Book in Common Teaching Guide
This 37-page guide explores Cambodia's history and culture alongside the book's themes of Buddhism, family, politics, and love. It also includes essay prompts for students and teachers.
First They Killed My Father — Netflix Film Discussion Guide
This guide offers a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the film adaptation of First They Killed My Father, directed by Angelina Jolie. Download the Netflix Film Discussion Guide.
First They Killed My Father - Girl Rising Book Discussion & Book Club Guide
Produced by the 10×10 Documentary Group — the team behind the film Girl Rising, for which Loung was one of the writers — this guide explores Cambodia's history and culture alongside themes from the book. Download the 10×10 Book Club Guide.
