Announcement: The APCC will have book reading by the Author Yen Tran on Saturday, June 15, 1:00-2:00 PM. Please read about the Author and her book "A Woman's Life of Suffering" below. Please come and meet the Author this Saturday. You don't want to miss this opportunity. The event is held at the APCC, which is located 4851 S. Tacoma Way, Tacoma WA. Please call to save your seat at 253-383-3900 ----- Original Message ----- Book Title: A WOMAN'S LIFE OF SUFFERING website: http://www.yentran.net/ About the Author : "The author, Yen Tran, was born in 1942 in North Vietnam, Ninh Binh Province. Her family moved from North to South Vietnam in 1954 and settled down in Saigon (now called Ho Chi Minh City). At the age of 33, Yen and her family immigrated to the United States. After relocating to San Diego, she found a job as a clerk to support her children and went to college at night. Yen graduated from college and worked as an accountant until she retired. Yen’s desire for her children, grandchildren and future generations to know about their heritage inspired her to tell her story. She also wanted to give hope to anyone who is suffering through life’s challenges and reveals the way she found peace and fulfillment. Yen is now living in Orange County, California with her daughter and family. She enjoys visiting her four other children, seven grandchildren and close friends. Yen regularly meditates, exercises and does charity work." About the Book : "Yen Tran starts her story when she is 11 years old. It is a horrific time when she and her family are forced to leave their ancestral home in northern Vietnam as the area in which they lived had become a war zone. After relocating in Saigon, Yen settled into her life as a happy young school girl, eventually enjoying the opportunity to study at the Agriculture College in Bao Loc highland where she realized the advantages of education. Yen’s troubles began with an arranged marriage to her father’s friend and her tutor. That happened after her 2nd year in college. She thought she could adjust to this new life, but in a few years Yen finds she is married to a man who has little regard for family values and even less regard for her. Even with their two handsome sons at home, her husband brought women into their home to live with him. The author describes her darkest hour when she finds herself forced to stay in a miserable existence. Suicide looked like her only escape, but in the aftermath of her suicide attempt she realized the importance of life and her precious children. A turning point in her story. Moving ahead to ten days before the fall of Saigon (April 30, 1975) Yen was evacuated from her homeland to the USA along with her four children (ages 2 to 14) her husband, his two mistresses and the two children he had with with his second mistress. The situation in their new country tested Yen’s every physical, psychological and spiritual strength as she endured abuse at home and worked hard each day to earn money at an oriental gift shop in order to put food on the table. Finally Yen saw she could survive on her own with her four children and bravely took the steps needed to divorce the man who caused her so much misery. Yen met a man who wanted to be her husband and be a father figure to her children, but he turned out to be a troubled man. In the book, Yen describes this torturous three year relationship that ended in her second divorce. After the years of suffering, disappointment and turmoil, Yen discovers another way of viewing and appreciating life. It starts with the full realization of the love she shares with her children. Traumatic events still happened to Yen, meeting a thief in her home and car accidents, but she had the strength to carry on and still feel grateful to be alive and feel blessed in so many ways. In her book, Yen reveals the ways she finds peace and live a calm, meaningful life. Her children are all successful professionals. Yen and her children are now part of our diverse and vibrant USA population, contributing in very meaningful ways."