For author and publisher Amy M. Le, survival has been part of her story from the very beginning.
In her memoir, From Broken to Brave, Amy looks back at a life shaped by war, illness, displacement, identity, trauma, family, and the determination to keep moving forward.
Amy escaped the Vietnam War when she was five years old. One of her clearest memories is arriving on a Malaysian island after her family burned the small boat that had carried them to safety. Her mother placed Amy on a piece of wood while family members swam her to shore.
That escape was only one fight for survival.
Amy was born with a congenital heart defect and struggled to eat, breathe, and grow. After reaching the United States, she was taken to Seattle Children’s Hospital, where she underwent the open-heart surgery that helped give her a future.
Growing up brought new challenges. Amy found herself caught between Vietnamese cultural expectations and the American life unfolding around her. As a teenager, she struggled with discrimination, belonging, rebellion, and periods when homelessness and serious consequences were frighteningly close.
Years later, storytelling gave Amy a way to examine where she came from.
After her mother died in 2017, Amy began researching her family history. That work became the foundation for her autobiographical fiction and eventually helped lead her toward telling her own story.
There was still one piece she wasn’t ready to write.
A traumatic experience from college remained incomplete in Amy’s memory until she reconnected with her former college roommate decades later. Their conversations filled in details Amy had long been missing. With that final piece of her story in place, she realized she was ready to finish her memoir.
From Broken to Brave is divided into two parts. “Broken” explores the experiences that tested Amy throughout her life. “Brave” focuses on what those experiences taught her and encourages others to continue moving forward.
That idea now extends into Amy’s work as a publisher. Through Quill Hawk Publishing, she helps authors bring their own stories into the world and works to amplify diverse voices.
Her advice for writers reflects what she has learned along the way: find your tribe. Writing can be lonely, and having a community of writers, editors, mentors, and friends can make all the difference.
For Amy M. Le, telling our stories is more than remembering where we have been. It can help us understand who we have become—and remind someone else that their story matters too.
