I am a writer and physician, and proud graduate of the University of Alberta. Through the kindness and compassion of some amazing Canadians, I , along with my mom and five siblings, were sponsored to Canada in 1979 from a Malaysian refugee camp. We were refugees from the Vietnam War. I was only five then. I now reside in small town Calmar, Alberta.
I love to write children’s stories that convey the humanity in our lives. For me, children are reminders of the beauty in a grain of sand, where lies the interface between art and science. My books have been shortlisted for the Alberta Literary Award, Red Maple Award, Blue Spruce Award, and TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award.
I have had the honour of being a Keynote Speaker at various events, including at a UN- IOM forum, Global Refugee Sponsorship Initiative, Western Michigan University, education forums and graduation ceremonies.
I founded the Children of Vietnam Benevolent Foundation and the Zyp Art Gallery. As well, I established the Kemosa Scholarship for First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Mothers Who Write, the Gauthier & Tran Endowment in Medicine, and sponsor the Annual Calmar Writing Contest and Calmar Medical Clinic Scholarship for Grade 12 Students pursuing a career in science.
I am humbled to have been awarded Alberta Venture Magazine’s 50 Most Influential People in 2014, RBC’s Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Award in 2019, AFP’s Community Enrichment Award in 2021, and the Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee Medal in 2023.
Aside from my passion for writing and medicine, I love travelling the world, reading poetry, and just hanging out in the garden with our three rambunctious children and their five cats.