The Memoir That Will Blow You Away (Plus 7 Other Powerful Picks)

"I was born in a country that no longer exists and grew up in a country that I never knew existed," writes Vinh Chung about his journey from Vietnam—via boat and extraordinary hardship—to the U.S. Yes, this is a riveting story that covers everything from surviving visits from machete-carrying Khmer Rouge guerrillas to burning stacks of devalued money to keep warm. But it's also a story about human kindness—the sort that inspires a stranger in San Francisco to slip a hundred dollar bill into a father's shirt, enabling him to buy groceries. Powerfully told, and unforgettable.