[2] Demick's writing represents a well researched body of work about lives from such a secretive country, with enough personal details of daily life in North Korea[6] not commonly found.

Facts are presented to portray an accurate image of the state and plight North Koreans have faced, but also mentions brighter moments such hardships can create.

Demick also had experience working as a journalist, often reporting on North Korea specifically, and the book features follow-up pieces based on the people's stories.

Throughout the book, Demick describes the harsh experiences her subjects faced, much of it stemming from the "Arduous March", which involved massive, chronic starvation, as well as more recent episodes of wide-scale economic plight caused by the North Korean government's currency 2009 revaluation, explained as "a trick".

Such depictions of a deteriorating society are contrasted and weighed against personal loyalties, with one interviewee comparing his love with liberty and life, as expressed by a Hungarian poet.

(p. 69) The name of the city where the featured interviewed people originate from, Chongjin, means "clear river crossing", a strictly prohibited act of treason for its residents pertaining to the border between North Korea and China, yet risked by the book's subjects.

Her experience is captured to depict both her personal, psychological perspective, as well as suddenly realizing such drastic difference in societies she is confronted with: She still wanted to believe that her country was the best place in the world.

[19] On the March/April 2010 issue of Bookmarks, the book received a (4.0 out of 5) with a critical summary saying, "Through telling the stories of the everyday lives of those who left North Korea, Demick humanizes the strict and indoctrinated society, sheds light on the plight of its citizens, and provides a compelling read".