Alive in the Killing Fields: Surviving the Khmer Rouge Genocide (National Geographic-memoirs)

Alive in the Killing Fields is the real-life memoir of Nawuth Keat, a man who survived the horrors of war-torn Cambodia. He has now broken a longtime silence in the hope that telling the truth about what happened to his people and his country will spare future generations from similar tragedy.

In this captivating memoir, a young Nawuth defies the odds and survives the invasion of his homeland by the Khmer Rouge. Under the brutal reign of the dictator Pol Pot, he loses his parents, young sister, and other members of his family. After his hometown of Salatrave was overrun, Nawuth and his remaining relatives are eventually captured and enslaved by Khmer Rouge fighters. They endure physical abuse, hunger, and inhumane living conditions. But through it all, their sense of family holds them together, giving them the strength to persevere through a time when any assertion of identity is punishable by death.

Nawuth’s story of survival and escape from the Killing Fields of Cambodia is also a message of hope; an inspiration to children whose worlds have been darkened by hardship and separation from loved ones. This story provides a timeless lesson in the value of human dignity and freedom for readers of all ages.

Nawuth Keat survived the horrors of war in Cambodia, escaped to Thailand, and came to the U.S. as a teen. Now an American citizen, he understands what freedom means. He lives with his wife and children in Hollister, CA.

Martha E. Kendall has written several nonfiction books for children including National Geographic’s The Erie Canal. Kendall attended the Eastman School of Music, where she studied the cello. She sings and plays fiddle, mandolin, guitar, penny whistle, and bass. She lives in Los Gatos, CA.