Tim Tran is an author who grew up in Saigon before coming to the United States for college. He attended Georgetown University, Pacific University, and then UC Berkeley. He returned to Vietnam 1974 after graduating and teaching in the U.S., but he was caught in the middle of the war and had to flee. Escaping was not easy because of the violence that came with the attempts. When he did successfully escape via boat, he was robbed by pirates.
He was able to settle back in the United States in 1979 due to the help of his college friends and he became the vice president of finance at Johnstone Supply. In 2003, he published his memoir American Dreamer: How I Escaped Communist Vietnam and Built a Successful Life in America.
In his interview, Tran describes in detail the major events of his life: growing up in Saigon, moving to the U.S. for college, returning to Vietnam, escaping Vietnam, and having to re-settle in the U.S. all over again. He concludes the interview with a powerful passage from his book, thanking the people who helped him as well as acknowledging his own resilience.