Sieu Sean Do

ABOUT THE BOOK

A Stick of Good Fortune:A Stick of Good Fortune: How I Escaped the Pol Pot Genocide and My Ten-Year Journey to Freedom 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.

Yet in the depths of devastation, small signs of destiny appeared to guide him — a thread of fate, a whisper of unseen protection. A prognostication from a humble “fortune stick,” rooted in Cambodian spiritual tradition, became a recurring symbol of faith and an unseen force that appeared to shield him through unimaginable danger.

But escape from the killing fields was not the end of his trial. Over the next decade, his journey carried him through multiple refugee camps along the Thai–Cambodian border, where survival demanded courage, perseverance, and at times, just plain luck. Amid disease, violence, and grief, he emerges as a healer — serving as a translator for international medical teams and assisting fellow refugees in their most desperate hours. Through acts of service, he reclaims a measure of dignity and a renewed sense of purpose.

This personal account spans the years 1975 to 1985, a decade marked by loss, confinement, struggle, and moments of hard-won triumph in the pursuit of freedom. While his first memoir, A Cloak of Good Fortune, chronicled his early survival under the brutal Khmer Rouge regime, this volume continues the journey, tracing the long and uncertain road from exile toward liberation.

A Stick of Good Fortune bears witness to one of the twentieth century’s darkest chapters while affirming the enduring power of compassion, resilience, and hope in the aftermath of unspeakable physical and psychological trauma. This book stands in honor of those who perished in war, those who rebuilt their lives, and those whose voices were silenced before their stories could be told.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sieu Sean Do (Do rhymes with go) was born into a loving family in Cambodia. Do was twelve years old when the KhmerRouge seized power. He survived the Cambodian genocide before embarking on a perilous journey to freedom. After escaping to Vietnam, he left his family behind at the age of eighteen and began a dangerous journey to the refugee camps along the Thai-Cambodian border. There, he served as an interpreter, trained as a medic, and worked alongside international doctors, nurses, volunteers, and humanitarian organizations to care for fellow refugees.

From the Cambodian Killing Fields to five refugee camps along the Thai-Cambodian border, A Stick of Good Fortune spans the years 1975 to 1985—a decade marked by unimaginable loss, displacement, hardship, and perseverance, as well as moments

of hope and triumph in the pursuit of freedom.

After immigrating to the United States, Do devoted his career to public service. He worked as a medical interpreter at San Francisco General Hospital before serving for more than two decades as a Victim Witness Investigator with a Northern California law enforcement agency, advocating for victims of crime and supporting vulnerable members of the community.

Sean Do holds a Master of Arts in Humanities and lives in California.

SAMPLE INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

• You were twelve years old when “your childhood disappeared.” What do children lose during war?

• What happens after you survive? How do you rebuild a life?
• You went from being a refugee to becoming an interpreter and medic who helped other refugees. Why was helping others so important to you after everything you’d experienced?
• What does “home” mean when you can never truly return to the place you came from?
• What did you learn about resilience that you couldn’t have learned any other way?
• Why was it important to you to tell this story now?