Escape from Camp 14 - Blaine Harden

This book chronicles the life of Shin Dong-Hyuk, who was born in a North Korean political prison camp and endured unimaginable things until he managed to escape the camp. The words "harrowing" and "heartbreaking" don't even begin to cover this true story. I truly feel lucky that my "problems" are nothing like his, and this book has really changed the way I view the "bad" things that happen to me - they can't hold a candle to even the smallest of the bad things this man has endured. In fact, reading his life story in my climate-controlled home wearing clean clothing, with a full stomach and pretty much any creature comfort one could want, made me feel profoundly guilty. It's a real mind trip for those of us who have never had to worry about where our next meal was coming from. I know there's no pain Olympics, and that I am allowed to feel bad about truly bad things that happen to me, but I hope I can use the mental images from this book to keep things in perspective.