Beyond the Shadow: A journey of a young boy to find life meaning through his own sufferings - Tapa dura

Born in 1946 in Son-Tay, North Vietnam, ""Sam"" Lien Le fled to South Vietnam in the late summer of 1954 with his parents after the defeat at the Dien Bien Phu battle. Growing up in South Vietnam, he went to school and joined the US Special Forces as a combat interpreter. When the war in Vietnam ended in 1975, the communists put him in a labor camp for having served the former government and the US. After two failed attempts he finally broke free on October 12, 1979 at 2 a.m. with his wife and two sons. Making a daring escape in a small fishing boat heavily laden with other escapees, he crossed the South China Sea for one thousand miles to the Philippines through a typhoon. He was separated from his family during the storm but miraculously reunited with them three days later on an island in the Philippines. Sam now lives in Spokane, Washington with his wife and children and grand children. He and his family have owned Madison Home furnishings and Madison Country stores in Spokane since 1988. Sam's first book, The Spirit Stills The Storms, detailing his journey from Vietnam to America, has touched many hearts and moved many to tears.