The National Book Awards Gala is coming up this Wednesday and one
of the finalists in the Young People’s Literature category is Never Fall Down by Patricia McCormick.
It is a novel based on the real life of Arn Chorn-Pond—a man who survived
unspeakable horrors in the labor camps of the Khmer Rouge as a boy, escaped as
a soldier, and was later adopted and brought to the United States. This is a story of brutality, but ultimately
it’s an inspiring story of how the arts can save a life, and how the resilience
of the human spirit can shine even in the darkest of times.
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| Patricia McCormick Photo by Roberto Ligresti |
In her brief introduction, Patty
writes:
Nearly two million people died—one quarter of the population. It is the worst genocide ever inflicted by a country on its own people.I used this quote often in my pitching because when I’d first read it, it shocked me…and I knew it would shock others. It did. What I learned from the many journalists and producers I spoke with is that a lot of people don't know these facts. This doesn't altogether surprise me as the Cambodian genocide is not a piece of history that is widely taught or discussed. Cambodians themselves would prefer to avoid their terrible past. When Patty and I discussed the history and the current relevance, she wrote me the following for background and context:
