Sieu Sean Do
A Stick of Good Fortune
Sieu Sean Do is an author, Cambodian genocide survivor, former refugee, and humanitarian. After beginning a new life in America, he dedicated more than three decades to public service with the City and County of San Francisco.
Oakland, CA
BOOK COVER
BOOK DETAILS
Pub Date: 3/30/26
Genre: Memoir/Autobiography
Page Count: 396
Format: Paperback and eBook
13-digit ISBN: 979-8-9933978-01
Price: Paperback $28.95 ebook $12.99
ABOUT THE BOOK
A Stick of Good Fortune is a gripping memoir of survival, faith, and the unbreakable human spirit.
Sieu Sean Do was born into a loving family in Cambodia. His childhood was violently shattered when the Khmer Rouge seized power in 1975. Millions were driven from their homes, separated from loved ones, and forced into a brutal world of starvation, hard labor, and terror. Under a regime determined to erase identity, family, memory, and hope, he endured repeated brushes with death in a landscape where survival itself seemed impossible.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sieu Sean Do is an author, Cambodian genocide survivor, former refugee, and humanitarian. At twelve, he survived the Khmer Rouge genocide and later spent years in refugee camps along the Thai-Cambodian border, where he trained as a medic and helped care for fellow refugees.His memoir, A Stick of Good Fortune, chronicles his journey from the Cambodian Killing Fields to refugee camps along the Thai Cambodian border and a new life in America.
TALKING POINTS
- What happens after you survive? The long road from trauma to rebuilding a life
- From refugee camp to public servant: Why refugees often become advocates for others
- What we get wrong about resilience
- What we don’t understand about the refugee experience
- What today’s refugee crisis looks like through the eyes of someone who lived It.
- Leaving home doesn’t mean leaving your past behind
TIMELY TIE-INS
August
- Back-to-School / Young People & War
- World Humanitarian Day — 19
September
- Labor Day — 7
- International Day of Peace — 21
October
- World Mental Health Day — 10
PRAISE
Sieu’s autobiography takes us into the refugee camps along the Thai-Cambodian border, where life remained perilous even after the fall of the Khmer Rouge. His story reveals that while courage and discernment were essential for survival, it was kindness and love that proved truly indispensable.
– Dr. Gilles Germain, Medicins Sans Frontieres, Dong Rek Refugee Camp, 1984
As a survivor of the Killing fields and the author of Starving Season, I found this book a powerful and intimate portrait of life in a refugee camp, where hardship is met with dignity and kindness. It is a valuable contribution to the growing body of literature on refugee experiences, capturing both the harsh realities of displacement and resilience that endures.
– Seang Seng, MD., Family Medicine Physician in Modesto, California
Despite fear and horror, Sieu Sean Do’s journey of hope from war-torn Cambodia through Vietnam to the Thai-Cambodian border stands as a powerful reminder that the human spirit can rise above hardship with courage, dignity, and compassion, no matter what trials we face.
– John Morris, MD., Physician with the international Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on the Thai Cambodian border, 1985
BOOK DETAILS
Pub Date: May 17, 2022
Genre: Memoir / Christian Inspirational
Publisher: She Writes Press
Page Count: 304
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 978-1647429003
Price: $15.99