Where the wind leads : a refugee family's miraculous story of loss, rescue, and redemption : a memoir

Back Cover: "The account of Dr. Chung and hisfamily will inspire you to believe in second chances and miracles and the Godwho gives them both." -Max Lucado, New York Times best-selling author My name is Vinh Chung. This is a story that spans twocontinents, ten decades, and eleven thousand miles. When I was three and a half yearsold, my family was forced to flee Vietnam in June 1979, a place we had neverheard of somewhere in the heartland of America. Several weeks later my family layhalf-dead from dehydration in a derelict fishing boat jammed with ninety-threerefugees lost in the middle of the South China Sea. We arrived in the UnitedStates with nothing but the clothes on our backs and unable to speak a singleword of English. Today my family holds twenty-oneuniversity degrees. How wegot from there to here is quite a story. Wherethe Wind Leads is the remarkable account of Vinh Chung and his... The first-hand account of a Vietnamese refugee who now lives the American dream. Where the Wind Leads is the remarkable account of Vinh Chung and his refugee family's daring escape from communist oppression for the chance of a better life in America. It's a story of personal sacrifice, redemption, endurance against almost insurmountable odds, and what it truly means to be American. Vinh Chung was born in South Vietnam, just eight months after it fell to the communists in 1975. His family was wealthy, controlling a rice-milling empire worth millions; but within months of the communist takeover, the Chungs lost everything and were reduced to abject poverty. Knowing that their children would have no future under the new government, the Chungs decided to flee the country. In 1979, they joined the legendary "boat people" and sailed into the South China Sea, despite knowing that an estimated two hundred thousand of their countrymen had already perished at the hands of brutal pirates and violent seas. Where the Wind Leads follows Vinh Chung and his family on their desperate journey from pre-war Vietnam, through pirate attacks on a lawless sea, to a miraculous rescue and a new home in the unlikely town of Fort Smith, Arkansas. There Vinh struggled against poverty, discrimination, and a bewildering language barrier#8212;yet still managed to graduate from Harvard Medical School. Where the Wind Leads is Vinh's tribute to the courage and sacrifice of his parents, a testimony to his family's faith, and a reminder to people everywhere that the American dream, while still possible, carries with it a greater responsibility The remarkable first-hand account of Vinh Chung, a Vietnamese refugee, and his family's daring escape from communist oppression for the chance of a better life in America. Discover a story of personal sacrifice, redemption, endurance against almost insurmountable odds, and what it truly means to be American. Vinh Chung was born in South Vietnam, just eight months after it fell to the communists in 1975. His family was wealthy, controlling a rice-milling empire worth millions; but within months of the communist takeover, the Chungs lost everything and were reduced to abject poverty. Knowing that their children would have no future under the new government, the Chungs decided to flee the country. In 1979, they joined the legendary "boat people" and sailed into the South China Sea, despite knowing that an estimated two hundred thousand of their countrymen had already perished at the hands of brutal pirates and violent seas. Where the Wind Leads follows Vinh Chung and his family on their desperate journey from pre-war Vietnam. Vinh shares: The family's perilous journey through pirate attacks on a lawless sea Their miraculous rescue and a new home in the unlikely town of Fort Smith, Arkansas Vinh's struggled against poverty, discrimination, and a bewildering language barrier His graduation from Harvard Medical School Where the Wind Leads is Vinh's tribute to the courage and sacrifice of his parents, a testimony to his family's faith, and a reminder to people everywhere that the American dream, while still possible, carries with it a greater responsibility. The author relates his family's journey from pre-war Vietnam, through pirate attacks in the open sea, to a new home in Fort Smith, Arkansas, where poverty and discrimination could not prevent the author from graduating from Harvard Medical School