The Chance: The true story of one girl's journey to freedom

by Bruce M Baker, Lisa Cheng

"We did not risk death to come to the United States. There were no guarantees of anything. There were no promises. We risked death for a CHANCE." – Hung Quan, Muoi's brother.Finalist for the Oklahoma Book Awards in 2022 and the Next Generation Indie Book Awards in 2023, The Chance tells the story of Muoi Quan. At age nine, she watches in horror as Saigon falls to the Communists. A year later, the military invades her home and destroys her family's business. At age eleven, an escape attempt to China ends in Hanoi at the end of a rifle. When her older brother has the chance to leave Vietnam by boat in 1979, Muoi reluctantly goes to see him off. She is standing at the riverside when a twist of fate pushes her forward, onto the boat, taking the place of a stranger who did not show up. The story that follows is one of storms, pirates, abandonment, and perseverance of the human spirit.

324 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 31, 2021

Reviews

[Raylene Keating · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well Told

The more I read the harder it was to put this book down. This book pulled me in to another culture and way of life so gently I hardly noticed. And then I was taken in a ride stranger than fiction facing the dangers of refugees fleeing by boat. Dropped into a new world so alien, one comes away with a better understanding of the unbelievable challenge facing refugees as they work so hard to acclimate. Well told!

[Michele Keeton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing story,

[Tari · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful story, thank you for sharing your life with me. I have been to Pho3Nine because of this book. You are someone to look up to.