The Heart of a Tiger is the true story of a woman who escaped the Cambodian Genocide in the 1970s.  It follows three generations of women struggling against the boundaries placed upon them, each ultimately emerging triumphant to achieve the American Dream.  This is my family’s story of survival.  Received 39 awards.  

SYNOPSIS:

Growing up as a stubborn child in rural 1950s Cambodia, VANNA SONG was a constant contradiction to her father’s old-fashioned ways of thinking. Vanna dreamed of obtaining an education despite the opposition of her father who believed that women should not be educated, but should instead marry and become caretakers to their husbands. A rebellious child, she defied her father, society and convention—sometimes recklessly—to obtain an education. In the end, the education she strove so hard to attain becomes a life threatening liability to her.

Vanna's insulated life is torn apart with the arrival of the Khmer Rouge. While Cambodians were in the midst of celebrating the New Year Festival on April 17th, 1975, Pol Pot's child soldiers swept through Cambodia, deporting all “city people” into forced labor camps. Vanna and her family are forced to march for over a month in a sea of starving and dying deportees. They reach their destination only to find themselves in the killing fields.

All “remnants of imperialism” were to be destroyed, which meant killing every educated professional. The entire Khmer culture was to be eradicated. During the four brutal years of the Cambodian Genocide, Vanna hides her identity as a teacher in order to keep herself and her two young children alive. Friends become enemies and her true identity is revealed multiple times.

It was night when the Khmer Rouge came for Vanna. An acquaintance had betrayed Vanna, informing the Khmer Rouge about her past as a teacher. At the communist headquarters, kneeling before the Mit, the local Khmer Rouge leader, who was flanked by grim-faced soldiers, Vanna didn’t beg for her life. Instead, she looked him in the eye, and asked to tell a story. That story saved her life.

It was one of many times my mother escaped death during the four years of the Killing Fields, and one of many times she used her mind and wits to help her and her children survive.

“The Heart of a Tiger” is about more than tragedy. Vanna's story celebrates the goodness of humanity in the heart of darkness. The Heart of a Tiger is the inspiring story of one woman’s journey from hell and back, and how she found redemption in the Cambodian Killing Fields. Vanna finds the strength to confront the challenges to her survival through a growing faith in a power greater than herself.

After narrowly surviving the Khmer Rouge's reign, Vanna escapes to a refugee camp in Thailand. Vanna's tent is hit by a rocket propelled grenade, nearly killing her entire family. Vanna is taken to a Red Cross surgeon who saves her life. She finds herself in a recuperation tent run by missionaries. The missionary group aids Vanna in gaining sponsorship for her family to come to America, and Vanna's daughter grows up to be the first female Cambodian refugee to work as a surgeon.

Today, at seventy years of age, Vanna continues to inspire. Returning back multiple times, to her small hometown of Srok Puok, she helps the people of her village heal the wounds inflicted by the Khmer Rouge’s tyrannical rule. She helps build a community center and begins a much needed farming initiative for the local villagers. Incredibly grateful for the many blessings, Vanna continues to pay it forward.

The gripping storylines, high stakes and dynamic characters in “The Heart of a Tiger” will appeal to a very wide audience.