A Refugee's American Dream: From the Killing Fields of Cambodia to the U.S. Secret Service

by Leth Oun, Joe Samuel Starnes Narrated by Tim Lounibos

Overview

"I saw many killed. I almost starved. But I escaped to refugee camps in Thailand and eventually made it to the U.S." Thus begins Leth Oun's poignant and vivid memoir. A survivor of the Cambodian Killing Fields-having spent a torturous three years, eight months, and ten days imprisoned by the Khmer Rouge-Oun thrived in America, learning English, becoming a citizen, and working as an officer in the United States Secret Service Uniformed Division. In A Refugee's American Dream, Oun shares hard memories of Cambodia, where his father was executed, and his family enslaved in labor camps.



Following the fall of the Khmer Rouge, Oun survived a year of homelessness then nearly four years in refugee camps. Arriving in America, seventeen and penniless, Oun struggled, washing dishes at a Chinese restaurant for $3.15 an hour. Still, he persevered, graduating from Widener University and completing thousands of hours of training to pursue a career in the Secret Service.



While on President Obama's protection team, he returns to Cambodia after thirty-two years, reunites with family, and bonds with Reik, the Secret Service dog he handles. Through his most difficult moments, Oun displays truly inspiring resilience that ultimately leads to great achievements.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"That one person could go from a little boy too afraid to show fear to a man who protects presidents is an incredible journey by anyone’s standards” . . . A “remarkable life."—Philadelphia Inquirer
 

“A harrowing yet inspiring and upbeat survival story . . . A truly heartening story of sheer determination and the will to survive and thrive.” —Kirkus Reviews
 

“Leth Oun’s dramatic past is similar to mine and millions of other Cambodians who went through that dark period in the seventies. Today, we might be happy, but deep down in our hearts, the wound of that dark age remains. I highly admire Leth who has not only achieved his American dream, but also his effort to put the pieces of his traumatic experiences together in this beautiful book.” —His Excellency Chhea Keo, Cambodian Ambassador to the United States
 

“Leth Oun’s moving story is deeply inspiring. He went to hell and back, and now embodies the American Dream.” —Maria Goodavage, author of New York Times bestseller Secret Service Dogs: The Heroes Who Protect the President of the United States
 

“Leth Oun is our Superman. He has overcome the kryptonite of a genocide and rose as a superhero for Cambodians everywhere.” — Kosol Sek, Managing Director, National Khmer Legacy Museum
 

“Through smooth and unflinching prose, A Refugee's American Dream reveals a remarkable story of human loss, endurance, and resilience.” —Sara Nović, bestselling author of America Is Immigrants, Girl at War, and True Biz
 

Kirkus Reviews

2022-11-22
A Cambodian refugee to America reflects on his arduous journey to freedom and job as a Secret Service officer.

In this harrowing yet inspiring and upbeat survival story, Oun (b. 1966), writing with Starnes, chronicles his upbringing in a poor, close-knit community in Battambang City, in northwest Cambodia. The author’s father was a lieutenant in the army, and his mother worked as a seamstress and cigarette roller. In April 1975, the Khmer Rouge seized control of the country, and Oun’s father was taken away and vanished. Soon, destitute families were herded out of their homes and marched into the “Killing Fields,” where they endured awful conditions working in the rice paddies with little food or shelter. Oun writes poignantly about how he had his beloved dog with him until the soldiers shot him “because they could”—an episode that was indicative of the senseless violence perpetrated by the Khmer Rouge, which the author captures vividly. Suspected by others because of his soldier father, Oun had to change his name and survive by his wits, working as a mechanic, scavenging for bugs and catching rats at night for food. He was separated from his mother and captured and tortured. The refugee camps in Thailand held their own appalling conditions and dangers, but after three years, the author found resettlement in Maryland near some relatives. His relentless tenacity, loyalty, and hard work helped him graduate from high school and college, after which he served as a correctional officer before moving on to become a Secret Service officer and K-9 specialist. “If I can survive the Killing Fields of Cambodia to become a protector of the president of the United States,” he writes, “nothing in this world is impossible. I am living proof of that.”

A truly heartening story of sheer determination and the will to survive and thrive.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940159919748
Publisher:	Tantor Audio
Publication date:	10/10/2023
Edition description:	Unabridged

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