Into the Shadows, I Ran

"Into the Shadows, I Ran" begins with the Khmer Rouge's forced evacuation of Cambodia's cities immediately after the fall of Phnom Pen and Saigon in April of 1975. The story traces Tha Chhay's attempted escapes from the forced labor camps when he was a boy. After the Khmer Rouge fell from power, he traveled extensively around Cambodia as a boy merchant. After buying and selling goods in different markets across Cambodia, he saved enough gold to hire a guide to take him across the land-mine fields into a refugee camp in Thailand. He persevered in the refugee camp for six long years. In the camp's small library, he saw a picture of Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin place the American flag on the moon. He knew that Cambodia wouldn't get their flag up there in a million years, and decided America was the best country to take him away from the political turmoil of his homeland. In the camp of 28,000 refugees, he was chosen to be sponsored to live in America. He was eventually sent to be settled in Seattle, Washington, where he still lives today. His quest to survive and make a living forced Tha Chhay to harness his inner talents and skills. This book is a window into a rich culture steeped in the history of the Far East, at a time of great upheaval and personal tragedies. Tha Chhay's testament to the horrors of the Cambodian genocide offers perspective into current political turmoil around the world. He hopes countries never experience this type of genocide again.

Tha Chhay is a survivor of the Cambodian holocaust, where nearly half the population lost their lives by the Khmer Rouge. He waited 6 years as a refugee to receive sponsorship in America or France and was eventually granted acceptance to immigrate to America. After many harrowing challenges, he became a part of the Cambodian community in Seattle. His autobiographical book "Into the Shadows, I Ran" details many of his frightening encounters and daring escapes as he made his way to America. Today, he lives in Seattle, Washington and works in industrial textiles, supporting aerospace companies and military contractors. He hopes that his book will invigorate people's lives and help others overcome extreme adversity.


Matthew Raudsepp, a graduate from Gonzaga University in 1990, taught English in Japan for two years prior to meeting Tha Chhay in 1992. With his continued friendship with Mr. Chhay over 30 years, Mr. Raudsepp helped him to compile many of the stories of his daring escape and harrowing challenges through the times of the Khmer Rouge holocaust in Cambodia, and his arrival in America. Mr. Raudsepp is a talented writer and speaker within his airline company, where he has primarily worked as a flight attendant/purser on many transoceanic flights around the world for more than thirty years, primarily in the Far East and Europe.