While Harden is too realistic to end his book on a purely optimistic note, he suggests that, in the future, Shin might find a way to come to terms with his personal demons and become a brave crusader against the North Korean prison camp system. Shin clearly has both the capacity and the desire to speak out emotionally against the prison camp system—and if he can learn to love and forgive himself for what he did as a young, confused man, then he could become exactly the bold, courageous activist that North Koreans need.