{"product_id":"a-refugees-american-dream-from-the-killing-fields-of-cambodia-to-the-u-s-secret-service-hardcover","title":"A Refugee's American Dream: From the Killing Fields of Cambodia to the U.S. Secret Service - Hardcover","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eLeth Oun\u003c\/b\u003e (Author), \u003cb\u003eJoe Samuel Starnes\u003c\/b\u003e (With)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e\"I saw many killed. I almost starved. But I escaped to refugee camps in Thailand and eventually made it to the U.S.\" \u003c\/i\u003eThus 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. \u003cbr\u003e In \u003ci\u003eA Refugee's American Dream, \u003c\/i\u003eOun shares hard memories of Cambodia, where his father was executed, and his family enslaved in labor camps. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFollowing the fall of the Khmer Rouge, Oun survived a year of homelessness then nearly four years in refugee camps. Arriving in America, 17 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhile on President Obama's protection team, he returns to Cambodia after 32 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe authors' proceeds will go to help Cambodians in need\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eLeth Oun\u003c\/b\u003e, a native of Cambodia who survived the Killing Fields, is a veteran United States Secret Service officer. He has protected presidents and vice presidents in four administrations in forty-nine states and more than a dozen countries. A political refugee who immigrated to Maryland in 1983, he became an American citizen in 1990. He is a 1998 graduate of Widener University where he majored in sociology and minored in criminal justice. Before going to work for the federal government in 2000, he held numerous jobs that ranged from working as a bank teller to clerking at convenience stores to washing dishes for $3.15 an hour. He and his wife, Sophy, also a survivor of the Killing Fields, have been married since 1985 and have two grown children. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eJoe Samuel Starnes\u003c\/b\u003e has published three critically acclaimed novels, including \u003ci\u003eFall Line\u003c\/i\u003e in 2011, which was selected to \u003ci\u003eThe Atlanta Journal-Constitution\u003c\/i\u003e's \"Best of the South\" list. His most recent novel, \u003ci\u003eRed Dirt: A Tennis Novel\u003c\/i\u003e, was released in 2015. His first novel, \u003ci\u003eCalling\u003c\/i\u003e, was published in 2005, and was reissued in 2014 as an e-book by Mysterious Press.com\/Open Road. All three novels are highlighted in a critical essay in \u003ci\u003eTwenty-First-Century Southern Writers: New Voices, New Perspectives\u003c\/i\u003e, which was published by the University Press of Mississippi. He has had journalism appear in the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eWashington Post\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003ePhiladelphia Inquirer\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Boston Globe\u003c\/i\u003e, and various magazines, as well as essays, short stories, and poems in literary journals. He holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Georgia, an MA in English from Rutgers University-Newark, and an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from Goucher College. \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 292\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1.18 x 9.06 x 5.98 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e February 10, 2023\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51765763997984,"sku":"9781439923368","price":30.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0974\/9764\/5344\/files\/28d584bdf9c014f05d0316f94b141872.webp?v=1780279127","url":"https:\/\/ebocreations.com\/products\/a-refugees-american-dream-from-the-killing-fields-of-cambodia-to-the-u-s-secret-service-hardcover","provider":"The E-Book Oasis LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}