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The Spirit Stills the Storms: From Tyranny to the American Dream
The last person was pulled onto the boat. All commotion suddenly died out, and the engine roared alive. The boat, at full speed, left the mouth of Cam Ranh Bay, heading east into the unknown waters of the high seas. It was 2:00 a.m. on October 12, 1979. Here and there hundreds of tiny lights of night fishing boats danced and twinkled in the morning hours. How many of them, I wondered, are patrol boats?
After multiple trips to Communist prison camps, Lien Le knew that only death awaited him. He soon began plotting his and his family's escape from Vietnam, working out intricate details in the secrecy of the night. Even after several failed attempts and years of planning, his faith remained, giving him the determination and the hope to press on.
The Spirit Stills the Storms is his bold journey to freedom, one in which he risked all for his dreams of a better tomorrow. His gifted storytelling, filled with detailed description, gives readers a firsthand glimpse of the prison camps, perilous escape attempts, overcrowded boats, typhoon-plagued passages, and beyond, leaving them with a newfound sense of appreciation and wonder for life, liberty, and the ever-present spirit which stills the storms.
After multiple trips to Communist prison camps, Lien Le knew that only death awaited him. He soon began plotting his and his family's escape from Vietnam, working out intricate details in the secrecy of the night. Even after several failed attempts and years of planning, his faith remained, giving him the determination and the hope to press on.
The Spirit Stills the Storms is his bold journey to freedom, one in which he risked all for his dreams of a better tomorrow. His gifted storytelling, filled with detailed description, gives readers a firsthand glimpse of the prison camps, perilous escape attempts, overcrowded boats, typhoon-plagued passages, and beyond, leaving them with a newfound sense of appreciation and wonder for life, liberty, and the ever-present spirit which stills the storms.
196 pages, Paperback
First published April 20, 2010
14 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
March 17, 2015
Sam is an incredible person for whom I had the pleasure of working. He and his son Lam run Madison Home, a furniture store in Spokane, and I worked there for about half a year before moving to Seattle. I heard snippets Sam's story multiple times as he told visitors to our store, but reading this book finally showed me how miraculous their journey really was.
I won't lie to you, there are issues with the book. Sometimes Sam jumps from scene to scene, something that gets confusing occasionally when he's talking about everything leading up to their daring escapes. Some of the sentence structures aren't terribly polished, and sometimes some grammar was misused. If you can get through those things, which isn't hard at all, you'll find an incredible book about this man's journey - which he embarked upon with his wife and two young sons - as a Vietnamese refugee and the people he encountered along the way.
Books like these make me feel grateful for living in the United States, and I'm sure the same goes for citizens of other "first world" countries. We complain about our governments, about ignorant people running around spewing stupidity, and about petty things that don't matter in the grand scheme of things. We don't worry about a dangerously overcrowded fishing boat, a crazy oppressive government from which we feel the need to flee, typhoons overtaking that overcrowded fishing boat, and other truly life-threatening, terrifying events. Sam did, and he was good enough to share his story with the world.
I won't lie to you, there are issues with the book. Sometimes Sam jumps from scene to scene, something that gets confusing occasionally when he's talking about everything leading up to their daring escapes. Some of the sentence structures aren't terribly polished, and sometimes some grammar was misused. If you can get through those things, which isn't hard at all, you'll find an incredible book about this man's journey - which he embarked upon with his wife and two young sons - as a Vietnamese refugee and the people he encountered along the way.
Books like these make me feel grateful for living in the United States, and I'm sure the same goes for citizens of other "first world" countries. We complain about our governments, about ignorant people running around spewing stupidity, and about petty things that don't matter in the grand scheme of things. We don't worry about a dangerously overcrowded fishing boat, a crazy oppressive government from which we feel the need to flee, typhoons overtaking that overcrowded fishing boat, and other truly life-threatening, terrifying events. Sam did, and he was good enough to share his story with the world.
November 1, 2018
Amazing story. We met the author in our book club. A very likable and engaging individual. The story was a little disjointed and needs an editor to make the flow better.
February 2, 2020
Sam Lien Le's amazing memoir of his escape from Communist Vietnam after the war is so compelling, and so impossible to put down that the short time it took me to read it was an injustice to the long years of suffering Le had to endure to gain his freedom.
From start to finish, it lives as proof that U.S. involvement in the war was justified, to squelch an evil that used the well-known tactics of prison, labor camps, and even death as a means to uphold their governing philosophy.
I had the great pleasure of meeting Mr. Le, after finishing his book, and he is every bit the determined hero, who made something out of nothing, using his freedom to its supreme capacity.
Do not miss the opportunity to experience this book, and the hardships and victories that it shares.
From start to finish, it lives as proof that U.S. involvement in the war was justified, to squelch an evil that used the well-known tactics of prison, labor camps, and even death as a means to uphold their governing philosophy.
I had the great pleasure of meeting Mr. Le, after finishing his book, and he is every bit the determined hero, who made something out of nothing, using his freedom to its supreme capacity.
Do not miss the opportunity to experience this book, and the hardships and victories that it shares.
December 18, 2018
Sam shares stories of his life following the fall of Saigon, his dangerous journey across the ocean, to life in the USA. It's poignant, heart-felt, and kept me reading even though I knew the ending.
I can only imagine what a mess the original book was and the work his editor had on her hands, for Sam's writing style jumps from present to past unnecessarily and is wordier than need be. Still, bypass those factors and the story is worth reading, especially if you were alive during that time and heard about the boat people and the turmoil his country was struggling to survive.
I can only imagine what a mess the original book was and the work his editor had on her hands, for Sam's writing style jumps from present to past unnecessarily and is wordier than need be. Still, bypass those factors and the story is worth reading, especially if you were alive during that time and heard about the boat people and the turmoil his country was struggling to survive.
December 9, 2019
The writing wasn't the best but the story sure was and I'm really glad that he wrote it and I read it. What a courageous, determined and optimistic man. Good on you Sam for creating the best life that you could with what you were dealt. Amazing and thanks for sharing.
March 9, 2025
Amazing story, but the writting gets in the way of his message. I still came away impressed with the importance of gratitude and service, though. Key themes for Sam. Really hard to believe the things the human spirit can endure, and he conveys that beautifully.
December 25, 2017
An inspiring book about persistence, attitude, and expectations. I love that he choose Spokane as to where he and is family would finally settle.
July 30, 2023
A heartwarming story of perseverance, hardship, hope, hard work, family, loyalty, gratitude and faith in someone bigger than ourselves.
October 15, 2012
This is a story of a Vietnamese man who, with his family, escaped Vietnam in the aftermath of the Vietnam war. He was one of thousands of "boat people" who made the perilous journey from Vietnam across hundreds of miles of open sea to reach The Philippines. From there, the story continues as Lien Le makes his way to the US, and eventually to Spokane, Washington where he lives with his grown family today.
The author's account is remarkable in that it portrays an incessant attitude of thankfulness and gratitude, and an acknowledgement of a "Spirit" that he believes has overseen his journey. That was one characteristic flowing through the book. The other term that sticks with me is the suddenly ominous implications of what "re-education" camps are about - facilities that so many Vietnamese found themselves in after the victorious reunification of Vietnam.
It is little wonder that to the author, freedom to move within the US, to live, believe, and work hard as one desires are aspects of life he does not take for granted. Just another example of the positive value that immigrants bring to this country, reinvigorating society as a whole.
The author's account is remarkable in that it portrays an incessant attitude of thankfulness and gratitude, and an acknowledgement of a "Spirit" that he believes has overseen his journey. That was one characteristic flowing through the book. The other term that sticks with me is the suddenly ominous implications of what "re-education" camps are about - facilities that so many Vietnamese found themselves in after the victorious reunification of Vietnam.
It is little wonder that to the author, freedom to move within the US, to live, believe, and work hard as one desires are aspects of life he does not take for granted. Just another example of the positive value that immigrants bring to this country, reinvigorating society as a whole.
May 14, 2010
This book was very insightful into what some of the refugees went through in their search for freedom and a better life.
I appreciate that you could "hear" Sam speaking through his words, however, a little more editing would have been the book very good indeed. There were sections that were repeated and that I found distracting.
I appreciate that you could "hear" Sam speaking through his words, however, a little more editing would have been the book very good indeed. There were sections that were repeated and that I found distracting.
May 25, 2013
His journey was very inspiring. A good book for a rainy day.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews