Writers Latitude

A Refugee’s American Dream: From the Killing Fields of Cambodia to the U.S. Secret Service was published in print in February and released as an audiobook narrated by actor Tim Lounibos in October. In this discussion, which features Lounibos reading selections, Oun and Lounibos and coauthor Joe Samuel Starnes discuss the book and take questions from the audience at the Collingswood Book Festival. Oun’s story includes hard memories of his childhood in Cambodia where his father was executed by the Khmer Rouge and he and his surviving family were enslaved in the Killing Fields for almost four years. Oun later 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. He persevered, earning college degrees before completing thousands of hours of training to pursue a career in the Secret Service. Through it all, Oun displays truly inspiring resilience that leads to great achievements.

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