Author Description

"Detained by the Burmese army near the border of Thailand, the author was held at Kheenyalee command center by Light Infantry Battalion 356. After the camp came under fire from the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army he was transported through conflict areas to Myawaddi. Charged and put on trial, he faced five year in Insein prison. Both prisoner and guest, Zakreski was forced to walk an emotional tight rope through the war zones of Burma. His story is one of survival under the debilitating effects of sleep deprivation and fear. It is a psychological self-assessment of extreme duress told with clarity and wit. Vivid, unforgettable characters act out their parts as they are trapped between orders from the state and the wish to provide traditional hospitality. They haunt him and help him throughout his ordeal. Graphic descriptions of the brutal reality of present day Burma provide the backdrop. This is the true story of his experience"--Page [4] of cover.