Diving Deep, Going Far is a collection of stories of young women in Cambodia who go against their society’s conservative expectations and follow their own dreams instead. Based on interviews with over 25 young Cambodian women, Diving Deep, Going Far pictures the lives of four main characters, each of whom are a composite of multiple real women.
The book follows Nary, the main character, from her youth in rural Sihanouk province, to her family’s move to the capital Phnom Penh, to her career as a human rights leader, and finally her struggle with finding a man who can support her in her ambitions.
Interlaced with Nary’s story, Diving Deep, Going Far provides a glimpse into the lives of three other young women: Nika, who loses her parents at 13 years old and faces the decision to leave school and start working to support her little brother; Soklin, who leaves her family and her rural village to become the first person from her village to go to university; and Ratana, a radio DJ who advocates for women’s freedom to make their own decisions, especially about their love lives.
Diving Deep, Going Far was written by Menno de Block, a Dutch native who has been living in Cambodia for over four years, in close cooperation with Kunthea Chan, a Cambodian human- and women’s rights activist.