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WORK TITLE: Bamboo Promise
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://boramtz.wixsite.com/bamboo-promise/
CITY:
STATE: AZ
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY: Cambodian
http://www.vichearahounbooks.com/contact/; married 3 times; one son.
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born in Phnom Penh, Cambodia; married; children: one daughter and one son.
EDUCATION:Received degree from University of Phnom Penh; Portland State University, B.S., 1996.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Author and publisher. Komatsu Silicon America, Hillsboro, OR, Material Characterization Specialist & Engineering Assistant, 1996-1999; Fujitsu Microelectronics of America, Gresham, OR, Quality Assurance III, 2000-2002; Department of Human Services – Child Welfare, Day Care Coordinator, Beaverton, OR, 2003-2008; Solar World, Production Tech IV, Hillsboro, 2008-09. WafterTech, Temporary Quality Assurance Tech, Camas, WA, 2003.
AVOCATIONS:Reiki, Latin dance, meditation, Zumba, yoga, knitting, writing, travel.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Vicheara Houn’s writing career is largely informed by the experiences she went through earlier in her life. A native of Cambodia, Houn was alive and present during the Khmer Rouge’s attacks and the resulting genocide. During her earliest years, she lived in relative privilege, as her father was a politician with considerable clout and determination to see her be successful academically and socially. However, with his affection came just as much abuse. It wasn’t until Houn reached university age that she was able to make her own choices in life, starting with her decision to defy her father’s wishes and marry a man that she loved, but that her father disliked. However, this sense of independence and happiness was short-lived by the arrival of Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge.
Houn was forced to evacuate from her home and to a new location. It was there that Houn lived for nearly half a decade, carrying out hard labor and struggling to meet her basic needs. Eventually, she was able to leave for the country of Thailand, which is where her second book, Bamboo Promise: The Last Straw: Vol.2, PTSD Self-Healing, picks in her autobiography.
Houn released one other book about her life prior to the second volume—Bamboo Promise: Prison Without Walls. In it, she detailed her early life, as well as her time spent living under the Khmer Rouge’s tyranny. The second Bamboo Promise picks up where that story left off, addressing the details of her life following her escape from Cambodia.
Once Houn was able to make her way into Thailand, she settled at a camp for other escapees. It was there that she came into contact with a man named Meng, who she eventually married. While Houn didn’t exactly trust Meng in the way she trusted her first spouse, she sought to build a life with him as a means of escaping her current circumstances. They were able to leave Thailand and head to America. However, her new life with Meng was far from happy. He soon revealed himself to be an abuser with weaknesses for other women and excessive amounts of alcohol. He turned all of his aggression toward Houn day in and day out, eventually driving her to attempt to take her own life. Houn expresses that, throughout this period of her life, she was mired with fear and a complete lack of confidence in herself. Every time she escaped one abusive situation, she wound up falling into another due to her previous traumas. Later in the book, she is able to discover that she is suffering from Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, as well as seek the treatment she needs to heal. Houn details the ways she has managed to cope with her mental illness, as well as the various triggers that make her condition worse. Alongside Houn’s narration comes advice from a licensed mental health professional, who takes care to further explain what Houn went through during this period of her life as well as how people currently struggling with their mental health can cope. A contributor to Kirkus Reviews said: “Houn provides a valuable addition to the literature of PTSD survival.” They added: “This worthy memoir provides a chilling account of the abusive relationship that the author fell into after she fled to Thailand.” Kalynn Huffman Brower, writing for Clarion Reviews, remarked: “Bamboo Promise: The Last Straw is truly inspirational, especially for those who suffer from trauma.” On the BlueInk Review website, one reviewer wrote: “Despite any issues, there is much to recommend this book, and Houn’s heartfelt story of sorrow and loss will make readers feel like cheering at its triumphant end.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Clarion Reviews, June 15, 2017, Kalynn Huffman Brower, review of Bamboo Promise: The Last Straw: Vol.2, PTSD Self-Healing.
Kirkus Reviews, August 1, 2017, review of Bamboo Promise.
ONLINE
BlueInk Review, https://www.blueinkreview.com/ (June 1, 2017), review of Bamboo Promise.
Vicheara Houn Website, http://boramtz.wixsite.com/ (May 7, 2018), author profile.
Vicheara (Bora Matarazzo) Houn
Publisher author at Self-Employed
Self-Employed Portland State University
Tucson, Arizona 61 61 connections
Connect Connect with Vicheara Houn More actions
Cambodia is a country with beautiful temple and arts, and steeped in the Buddhist religion. Despite this, the once-civilized society turned to violence and proceeded to destroy itself. People betrayed their parents. their children, and their friends. In the process, they extinguished everything that represented the truth and beauty of Cambodia.
How does an individual withstand such experiences and resume life after having fought for a single grain of rice and witnessed unbelievable cruelties, such as mothers crushing their babies, young children willing to kill for a morsel of food. and the entire decimation of normal urban life?
Bamboo Promise is the remarkable and intensely personal autobiography of a woman raised as the sheltered and privileged only child of a prominent Cambodian family. As a young bride, she and her entire family were swept up in the Cambodian genocide of the 1970s. She recounts how she adapted and survived in the harsh killing fields of the Khmer Rouge terrorists in the compelling narrative.
Although the author survived many horrors, Bamboo Promise is not a horror story. It is the story of the evolution of a human spirit as she endured a tumultuous upbringing and unspeakable tragedy. The insight into life after Pol Pot's defeat and Cambodia's subjection by the communist Vietnamese are particularly unique. Bamboo Promise is also a story of hope, as she found lasting happiness in the United States.
Bamboo Promise, 2nd edition, is NOW available in paperback from Barnsandnoble.com, and Abbottpress.comn and amazon.com Follow this link:http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1458206300/sr=8-1/qid=1353879295/ref=olp_product_details?ie=UTF8&me&qid=1353879295&seller&sr=8-1
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Experience
Self-Employed
Publisher author
Company NameSelf-Employed
Dates EmployedNov 2008 – Present Employment Duration9 yrs 6 mos
LocationTucson, Arizona Area
Bamboo Promise / Prison Without Walls
Bamboo Promise / The last straw : PTSD self-treatment
n/a-freelance
Writer
Company Namen/a-freelance
Dates EmployedApr 2005 – Present Employment Duration13 yrs 1 mo
Solar World
Production Tech IV
Company NameSolar World
Dates EmployedAug 2008 – Nov 2009 Employment Duration1 yr 4 mos
Location25300 NW Evergreen Rd, Hillsbor, OR 97124
*At a start-up phase, performed manufacturing tasks to establish work instructions and procedures
*Troubleshooted process and equipment issues, demonstrating a strong aptitude for systematic problem solving
*Trained team members in routine production and support tasks
*Contributed to project teams to implement effective process improvements
*Implemented process of Wafer Handling procedure, and Training checklist for Test/Sorter
*Performed visual inspection on silicon cells for reliability and quality of the products
*Implemented process of Waftr Handling
Department of Human Services Child Welfare
Day Care Coordinator
Company NameDepartment of Human Services Child Welfare
Dates EmployedJun 2003 – Aug 2008 Employment Duration5 yrs 3 mos
Location15425 NW Greenbrier Parkway Beaverton, OR 97006
*Assessed the day care requests and payment plan as children placed in sub-care or foster care. Composed letter to foster parents. Handled sensitive and confidential matters relating to personnel
*Maintained and audited record of all bus passes and tickets distributed in monthly basis. Prepared table and spreadsheet to Disbursement bureau for Reimbursement
*Implemented the case file for family members. Assisted with case workers in creating plans/services, based on children need, to keep them safe, healthy and well-being
*Implemented procedure of Bus Pass/Ticket Process and Day Care Provider for new hire
WafterTech
Temporary Quality Assurance Tech
Company NameWafterTech
Dates EmployedMar 2003 – Jun 2003 Employment Duration4 mos
Location5509 NW Parker St, Camas, WA 98607
*Performed OM inspection using 50x objective / 20x based on QA Defect Criteria to check random defects on silicon wafer products
*Established writing report identifying their defects using defect coding to communicate information
*Calibration of inline measurement equipment to ensure the accuracy of equipment
Show more
Education
Portland State University
Portland State University
Degree NameBachelor of Science Field Of Studyemphasis in Chemistry
Dates attended or expected graduation 1994 – 1996
Skills
Writing
Public Speaking
Multi-tasker with excellent organizational skills.
ABOUT ME
Vicheara was born in Cambodia's capital, Phnom Penh in the peaceful days before the Khmer Rouge rebels engulfed this small Southeast Asian nation in four years of death and destruction. As the only child of a wealthy and politically prominent father, her young life was one of great contrasts. She was alternately indulged and abused by her father who was determined that she could be both a traditional Cambodian woman and highly educated professional.
She went to University of Phnom Penh to study pharmacology and met her husband there. He was not an acceptable choice to her father in a society where social status governed most aspects of life. Their forbidden romance caused much conflict but eventually they prevailed and married in 1975 right before the Khmer Rouge took over and their lives turned upside down.
All the residents of Phnom Penh, including Vicheara's entire family, were forced out of their homes and expelled from the city in a mass exodus by the Khmer Rouge rebels. They believed that they would be allowed to return home in days but instead, the Khmer Rouge relocated them to a remote province, where they lived for almost four years with horror.
Emaciated and alone, she manged to survive until 1979 when the Khmer Rouge was defeated by the Vietnamese and the survivors were liberated. Vicheara returned to the her paternal home, only to find that it no longer belonged to her family and that liberation by the Vietnamese communists was another kind of prison. She finished her pharmacology degree and made daring escape to a refugee camp in Thailand. There she met the man who would become her second husband and they made their way to the US in 1984, where they had two children, a boy and a girl. She received her bachelor's degree in Chemistry. She later divorced and met her current husband in Portland, OR. Later, they moved to Arizona where she finished writing this first book, Bamboo Promise to share her amazing story of survival with the world.
Education: Pharmacist (Cambodia), BS in Chemistry (Portland, OR)
Languages:English, Khmer, French, Vietnamese.
Hobbies: Latin dance, Zumba, knitting, travel, writing, Yoga, Meditation, Reiki
Activities: Speech at Clackamas High School in Oregon (Dec 2012)
Speech at Beaverton Rotary club in Oregon (Dec 2012, Jan 2013)
Interviewed by a local newspaper "Explorer" in Tucson, AZ (Jan 2013)
Book singing at Mr. An's restaurant (Jan 2013)
Book presentation at Mr. An's restaurant (Jan 2013)
Book presentation at Wat Buddhametta, Tucson, AZ (every month on
the 2nd week)
Speech at Marana Rotary club in Tucson, AZ (March 2013)
Interview with local TV show at channel 68, Cox20 Comcast 24 (May 2013)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTHtzAIZHLE
I am a Cambodian - American woman and a survivor of the Cambodian genocide that occurred from 1975 to 1979. As a member of a small group of Khmer (Cambodian) authors who have been fortunate enough to be able to publish a book about the tragedy in Cambodia, I wanted to tell the world not just my own story of survival in the darkness of horror, agony and grief, but, just as important, how the radical terrorist Khmer Rouge came to power and how they carried out their agenda of genocide as the world stood by in silence.
The Khmer Rouge (KR) extremists were very clever, manipulative, aggressive and inhuman. Readers of my book will quickly see the parallels with ISIS. Like ISIS, the KR used torture, terror, rape, forced labor and mass murder to eliminate all opposition. In the years leading up to their takeover of the country, the KR recruited from all aspects of Cambodian society: highly-educated, politicians, farmers, students, even children. They promised a utopian society based on pure communism, just as ISIS promises a caliphate based upon Islam.
My book, "Bamboo Promise, A Prison Without Walls" was intended as a voice for my family, friends, neighbors, and for all Khmers who are unable to tell their stories and share their pain. Unable because they were among the millions slaughtered without justice; starved to death in a nation that exported the bounty from its fields; raped and mutilated; and dead from illness that could have been easily cured by access to modern medicine. Cambodians who survived the genocide were permanently traumatized by the war crimes perpetrated by Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge guerrilla leader, and his followers.
My bio is my story in this book.
Vichera Houn
http://boramtz.wix.com/bamboo-promise
http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1077&context=jsaaea
Houn, Vicheara: BAMBOO PROMISE:
THE LAST STRAW
Kirkus Reviews.
(Aug. 1, 2017):
COPYRIGHT 2017 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Houn, Vicheara BAMBOO PROMISE: THE LAST STRAW iUniverse (Indie Nonfiction) $34.99 2, 23
ISBN: 978-1-5320-1502-1
A survivor of Cambodia's Killing Fields chronicles her journey toward recovery in this sequel. In the first
volume of her autobiography, Houn (Prison Without Walls, 2012) described the horrors of her native
Cambodia under the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime, during which she lost her entire family and was
subjected to starvation and forced to work as a slave laborer. This second installment shares her later
experiences as she absconded to Thailand and eventually immigrated to the U.S., all the while wrestling
with the terrible demons of trauma. PTSD, she writes, is "an invisible war. It is my past doing battle with
my present. The trauma of this war has wounded my soul." After her escape, Houn ended up in a refugee
camp in Thailand, where she met Meng, a "man with Chinese eyes and thin lips" who introduced himself as
a distant cousin on her father's side. After she moved in with him, she endured another nightmare as Meng,
a brutal alcoholic and womanizer, tormented and emotionally abused her. "Men can do anything they want,"
he told her. "A man is gold, nothing sticks. A woman is like a white cloth, everything sticks." In this vivid
and disturbing account, Houn is unsparing in her detailing of what became her second marriage. After one
suicide attempt, she was unable to answer when a doctor asked her, "Why did you harm yourself?" She
reasoned: "What would happen if I told the truth? My husband would hurt me more or he would mock and
laugh at me until I went mad." In the U.S., a conversation with a co-worker whose son, an Army veteran
who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, suffered from PTSD left her frozen in fear: "I knew I had PTSD!!!"
Houn deftly describes how she found recovery through a combination of acupuncture, massage, meditation,
and Reiki therapy. "I have found that the first person I had to forgive was myself," she discovered. "I was a
blameless victim of forces much greater than myself." The volume could have dispensed with the somewhat
stilted observations of a psychologist that conclude every chapter. But overall, Houn provides a valuable
addition to the literature of PTSD survival. This worthy memoir provides a chilling account of the abusive
relationship that the author fell into after she fled to Thailand.
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Houn, Vicheara: BAMBOO PROMISE: THE LAST STRAW." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Aug. 2017. General
OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A499572420/ITOF?
u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=11e6d6df. Accessed 22 Apr. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A499572420
4/22/2018 General OneFile - Saved Articles
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/marklist.do?actionCmd=GET_MARK_LIST&userGroupName=schlager&inPS=true&prodId=ITOF&ts=1524433407349 2/3
Bamboo Promise; The Last Straw
Kalynn Huffman Brower
Clarion Reviews.
(June 15, 2017):
COPYRIGHT 2017 ForeWord
https://www.forewordmagazine.net/clarion/reviews.aspx
Full Text:
Vicheara Houn; BAMBOO PROMISE; iUniverse (Nonfiction: Autobiography & Memoir) 20.99 ISBN:
9781532015007
Byline: Kalynn Huffman Brower
Bamboo Promise: The Last Straw is truly inspirational, especially for those who suffer from trauma.
Vicheara Houn's Bamboo Promise: The Last Straw, Volume 2 relates the author's traumatic experiences in
the Cambodian killing fields and beyond. This book builds on Houn's first memoir, with the focus shifting
here to share her coping strategies.
The narrative showcases the survival techniques that helped her deal with the deaths of many people,
including her father and young husband. She managed a harrowing escape to Thailand, the uncertainty of a
refugee camp, and a bewildering immigration to the United States.
In the Thai refugee camp, she fell in with Meng, a slick, womanizing alcoholic. She knew he did not have
the good character of her first husband, but she clung to his protection. He was her way out, but even in the
United States, escaping him took time.
At every stage, Houn spiraled farther down into patterns of self-doubt and anxiety. Because so many of the
Cambodians who survived the genocide were themselves victims of extreme physical and mental abuse, she
repeatedly found herself dependent on people who were untrustworthy and cruel to her. That she is now
able to share her story is a testament to her resilience.
Houn's post-traumatic stress disorder plagued her for decades. Discussing her "wounded soul," she explains
the sights, sounds, smells, and dreams that trigger her PTSD, as well as relating the treatments and
strategies that she continues to use to heal those deep wounds.
Vivid retellings of her years in Cambodia and Thailand are not matched by stories of her immigration
experience, or of what it was like to move from a sweltering climate to the wintry Pacific Northwest, though
the narrative does include accounts of cold nights and suicide attempts. The text contains some subtly
awkward phrasing, but the author's voice remains distinctive. At the end of each short chapter, a
psychologist weighs in with a brief analysis.
The book promises to create a how-to for others who suffer from PTSD, and for those who seek to help
them. The psychological analysis found at the end of each chapter is clinically detached, as might be
expected, but often fails to connect all the dots to show how Houn's unconscious responses stall her healing
path after her primary traumatic experiences, and ultimately how her conscious responses lead her to relief
from PTSD.
Bamboo Promise: The Last Straw is truly inspirational, especially for those who suffer from trauma.
4/22/2018 General OneFile - Saved Articles
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/marklist.do?actionCmd=GET_MARK_LIST&userGroupName=schlager&inPS=true&prodId=ITOF&ts=1524433407349 3/3
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
Brower, Kalynn Huffman. "Bamboo Promise; The Last Straw." Clarion Reviews, 15 June 2017. General
OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A495851468/ITOF?
u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=a635d410. Accessed 22 Apr. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A495851468
Bamboo Promise: The Last Straw, the second volume of Vicheara Houn’s 2012 memoir about surviving Cambodia’s Killing Fields in the late 1970s, is part memoir, part case study of her own PTSD and eventual healing.
After Pol Pot’s invasion of her homeland and her resettlement in the U.S., Houn continued to experience abuse. She escaped slave labor in Phnom Penh only to be subjugated by the man who later married her. She divorced him, but worked for a heartless boss. After her PTSD diagnosis, which she refers to as an “invisible war,” Houn saw how it ruled her life: It was “my past doing battle with my present.” Turning to ancient Eastern practices and Western psychotherapy, she eventually regained her mental and physical health.
The strength of Houn’s narrative is her distinctive voice. Her emotionally authentic writing makes palpable her fear, despair and loss. Yet while her writing can be elegant —in a passage about being on the brink of starvation, she says, “My meals were nothing but pain and tears. I had to swallow them all”—she often peppers her quotes with “uh,” “huh” and “What!” which can muddy her meaning. For example, in a discussion, a friend asks, “Vicheara? Do you know what happened next?” Houn responds, “Yes…Uhhh…No.”)
The narrative offers expert commentary on PTSD after each chapter, analyzing the chapter in the context of the disorder. This often feels redundant and interrupts the flow of Houn’s raw, first-hand accounts, diminishing their impact. Less obtrusive would be an introduction to the book written by the PTSD expert, framing Houn’s experience in those terms. (The commentary oddly placed on page 10 largely fulfills this function.) This would add gravitas to Houn’s work without disrupting her voice, making it a must-read for other trauma survivors.
Despite any issues, there is much to recommend this book, and Houn’s heartfelt story of sorrow and loss will make readers feel like cheering at its triumphant end.
Also available in hardcover and ebook.