Fire Road
Fire Road by Kim Phuc Phan Thi
adult; nonfiction; history
Get out! Run! We must leave this place! They are going to destroy this whole place! Go, children, run first! Go now!
These were the final shouts nine year-old Kim Phuc heard before her world dissolved into flames―before napalm bombs fell from the sky, burning away her clothing and searing deep into her skin. It’s a moment forever captured in an iconic image that has come to define the horror and violence of the Vietnam War. Kim was left for dead in a morgue; no one expected her to survive the attack. Napalm meant fire, and fire meant death.
Against all odds, Kim lived―but her journey toward healing was only beginning. When the napalm bombs dropped, everything Kim knew and relied on exploded along with them: her home, her country’s freedom, her childhood innocence and happiness. The coming years would be marked by excruciating treatments for her burns and unrelenting physical pain throughout her body, which were constant reminders of that terrible day. Kim survived the pain of her body ablaze, but how could she possibly survive the pain of her devastated soul?
Fire Road is the true story of how she found the answer in a God who suffered Himself; a Savior who truly understood and cared about the depths of her pain. Fire Road is a story of horror and hope, a harrowing tale of a life changed in an instant―and the power and resilience that can only be found in the power of God’s mercy and love.
Loss and Healing
I heard about Fire Road from a friend who was recommending it to another friend. I was not familiar with the story but it did sound pretty interesting. Most of my reading lately has centered around loss and healing but I decided to find out more about it anyway. What I found was a true story about a horrific loss and an incredible healing.
I looked for Fire Road in my local library and was captivated by the picture on the cover. This picture won the Pulitzer Prize for the photographer, Nic Ut, in 1973.
You can read an article about the photographer here.
Her Story
Kim Phuc’s story is engaging from the beginning. She describes her dream of wanting to write her story for at least a decade. She tells of other books that have been written about her, such as “The Girl in the Picture.” However, Kim Phuc wanted to describe her experiences in her own words.
Kim became known as “the napalm girl” and her image has become a visual representation of the impact of war .
The Napalm Bomb
Kim begins her story by describing her family and her childhood. She grew up in South Vietnam in the town of Trang Bang. Her mother owned a very prosperous and well-loved soup shop. She had several siblings and her best friend surrounding her.
But, as is the case with war, Kim and her family were chased from their home on more than one occasion. And her life changed suddenly when she was 9 years old. On June 8, 1972, a napalm bomb was dropped on the location where she and her family were staying.
Kim heard the soldiers tell everyone to run and she ran. Kim ran while she was on fire. She ran as her clothes disintegrated on her body. She ran until she found someone to help her. Little did anyone know, the help offered was the opposite of what she needed. A soldier poured water on her smoldering body, which made the fire reignite. Kim passed out.
Third degree burns covered about 60% of Kim’s body. Napalm burns at 800 degrees Celsius, 1472 degrees Fahrenheit. An incredibly intense heat! In fact, this is around the temperature of a modern-day crematorium.
Left for Dead
When Kim was taken to the hospital the doctors had little hope that she would survive. They put her little body in the morgue where she laid for 3 days. Her mother went to the morgue to say good-bye to her precious girl when she discovered that she was not, in fact, not dead.
On the Road to Healing
Over the years, Kim Phuc had to deal with many types of loss. Loss of her childhood, loss of her home, loss of her friends, and loss of her innocence.
Throughout her younger years, Kim’s government used her as a source of propaganda. They followed her daily and she never had peace. She wanted nothing more than to be a doctor and help people as she had been helped. However, the continual intrusions at school made this an impossible dream.
Finding Faith
Kim spent years searching for help and searching for truth. She faithfully practiced her religion of Cao Dai in hopes of finding peace and relief from her physical and mental pain. Her religion did not offer her this relief. Once she was introduced to Jesus Christ, however, she found true healing.
One thing that she desperately sought was a friend. And God provided that friend when she needed her the most.
When suicide seemed the only option, she met a woman who would help her read and fall in love with the Bible.
Finding Forgiveness
Throughout her story, Kim Phuc spoke a lot about the anger that she carried around in her heart. She was angry at the soldiers for dropping the bombs, angry with her friends for turning their backs on her, angry at her government for using her all those years, and angry at the countries for fighting the war.
Today, Kim Phuc is 57 years old, and is married with two beautiful children. She and her family live in Canada.
In 1994, UNESCO named Kim Phuc a Goodwill Ambassador.
Recommendation
I highly recommend this book. Fire Road is a heart-wrenching as well as heart-warming story. The content is a bit mature due to the nature of the author’s experiences. However, this is a part of history that cannot be ignored. Kim’s message is a beautiful message of hope and forgiveness. A message we very much need today.
