"A captivating memoir of a courageous survivor" (Publishers Weekly) and "a window onto the panorama of modern Korean history" (St. Petersburg Times) this is a radiant and engaging story about a young American woman's discovery about the life of her Korean grandmother.

Helie Lee's grandmother, Hongyong Baek, came of age in a unified but socially repressive Korea, where she was taught the roles that had been prescribed for her: obedient daughter, demure wife, efficient household manager. Ripped from her home first during the Japanese occupation and again during the bloody...

A breathtaking true story of a rescue mission undertaken by a young woman and her family in one of the most repressive countries in the world.
Helie Lee often had heard her grandmother speak of an uncle, lost decades ago when he was a child during the family's daring escape from North Korea. As an adult, he was still living there under horrid conditions. When her grandmother began to ail, Helie became determined to reunite her with her eldest son, despite tremendous odds. Helie's mission became even more urgent when she realized that her first book, the bestselling novel Still Life with...