Life after those dark years has rewarded me greatly.  My impossible dream has come true.  My deceased parents, siblings and friends now live on in my book and in the hearts and minds of my audiences everywhere, along with the millions of others who perished unjustly alongside of them.  My words have been heard and continue to be heard.

 

I no longer feel powerless.

 

In 2004 I received a personal thank-you letter from Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright for "giving voice to those who have none."  My writing appears in the book Voices of Protest: Documents of Courage and Dissent, with the words of other icons of justice, such as Martin Luther King, Mohandas Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Mohammed Ali, and Rachel Carson.  Radio Sweden Channel One compared my memoir with books written by Imre Kertész, the 2002 Nobel Prize winner in literature and Holocaust concentration camp survivor.  I was featured with Archbishop Desmond Tutu in a film called The Will To Live.  My words have been heard on the BBC, Al Jazeera, the Voice of America, Cambodian National TV, Australian radio and TV, and U.S. radio and television.  I have been the keynote speaker at lecture halls in the U.S., Australia, Cambodia, Canada and Denmark. Globally, I also have spoken to students, professors, and teachers who use my memoir for their classes via Google Meets and Zoom.

 

When Broken Glass Floats has inspired and touched many of the lives of those who dared read it.  It has been chosen by book clubs and made required reading in high schools and universities all over the world.  I have been invited to speak at many of those schools and have been invited back again.

 

There, I consistently surprised audiences by mixing the serious content of my talks with my upbeat spirit, humor, and good-natured teasing.  Over and over, these audiences asked the same question: how is it possible that a child who suffered under one of the most brutal killing regimes of the 20th century, one who lost both her parents and many siblings, could emerge with such a bright and forgiving spirit, and with so much optimism and sense of possibility?

 

Today, I continue to speak before audiences everywhere, telling my story and answering that question.  My family—and all those who have died and suffered—have given me a mission: to tell the world what really happened, so that we brothers and sisters of this planet can prevent it from ever happening again. 

 

To arrange an appearance, please contact me for information and fees. 

 

Sincerely,

Chanrithy Him