Ke Huy Quan reflects on his family’s escape from post-war Vietnam on ‘Settle In’ (Level 1)

Ke Huy Quan came to America as a refugee from Vietnam. He became a famous actor and later won an Oscar. Now he wrote a book called Never Say Die. The book tells his family's story. His parents had nine children. They wanted to leave Vietnam after the war. It was dangerous to travel together, so they separated. His mother took three children on a boat to Malaysia. They arrived safely on the first try. Quan was seven years old. He was apart from his mother for more than a year and a half. The family never talked about this hard time. Quan says no one puts children on a boat unless the water is safer than the land. He talked to his older siblings before writing the book. They helped him remember what happened. Now they can understand each other better.