Where the Wind Leads

A Refugee Family's Miraculous Story of Loss, Rescue, and Redemption

By: Vinh Chung, Tim Downs

Narrated by: Josh Aaron

From the harrowing experiences of their journey across the South China Sea in the aftermath of the Vietnam War to the heartwarming account of their successful restaurant venture in America, the refugee story of Vinh Chung and his family is riveting. In a time where the current topics are immigration and human rights, this first-hand account reminds us to view events and people with a lens of compassion.

Just eight months after South Vietnam fell to the communists in 1975 Vinh Chung was born. His family was wealthy, controlling a rice-milling empire worth millions; but within months of the communist takeover, the Chungs lost everything and were reduced to abject poverty. Knowing that their children would have no future under the new government, the Chungs decided to flee the country. In 1979, they joined the legendary “boat people” and sailed into the South China Sea, despite knowing that an estimated two hundred thousand of their countrymen had already perished at the hands of brutal pirates and violent seas.

Narrating a multigenerational memoir, Vinh illustrates the compassionate side of humanitarian efforts and the life-changing moments that brought him to America as a child. With a sharp sense of humor he unravels ethnic hostility faced when they arrived in Fort Smith, Arkansas, the challenges and struggles of his family as they strove to achieve the American dream, and how he and his siblings went on to earn master degrees and doctorates from prestigious universities – all because his parents took a leap of faith and held on to the courage of building a new life.

Some of stories Vinh shares are:

• The family’s perilous journey through pirate attacks on a lawless sea
• The grueling life of being in a refugee camp in Malaysia before their rescue by World Vision
• Their miraculous rescue and a new home in the unlikely town of Fort Smith, Arkansas
• Vinh’s struggles against poverty, discrimination, and a bewildering language barrier
• His graduation from Harvard Medical School

Where the Wind Leads is Vinh’s tribute to the courage and sacrifice of his parents, a testimony to his family’s faith, and a reminder to people everywhere that the American dream, while still possible, carries with it a greater responsibility.

Eye opening and emotional book.

I loved this book and the narrator. I did not know much about the boat people from Vietnam. Why no one helped them and or took them in as refugees. It was so sad to see what they went through for their freedom and their families. This was captivating. I highly recommend it.

thank you

this book is a life changer. I will long remember the stories of this family. thank you so much for sharing it with us all. Janine

Amazing insightful story

Imagine being as rich as a king in Vietnam, becoming a refugee with nothing and then being left in a an in seaworthy boat in the middle of the ocean to die… these are just a few of the details in this amazing book. Plus- is the experience of being a refuge different than an immigrant?

timely reminderthat we are our brothers keeper

This demonstrates that God's family and the church are still to care for the widow, the orphan and the alien. The Church is still the first and best resonse. Vinh Chung's powerful "parallel world" doesn't cast guilt, but the unfathomable will of the Lord and the Grace that binds humanity. This tale of the Vietnamese boat people and how they became Americans despite all obstacles, challenges us against the backdrop of those that did not make it. The challenge can be made today for those still trying to make it, as The Shepherd still seeks one lost sheep

P.S. Tim Downs: Is it not time to revive the Bugman?

God, humor, honesty

I am a better person after listening to WHERE THE WIND LEADS by Vin Chung