We were lucky to catch up with Saroeup “Sara” Im recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Saroeup “Sara” thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about one of the craziest things you’ve experienced in your journey so far.

The craziest thing happened to me. The craziest thing that’s happened to me was I grew up in Cambodia. In 1975, the Communists Khmer Rouge regime took over Cambodia. At the age of 21, I was held captive in a forced labor camp. For four years, I worked long hours in rice fields under intense sun. I lived with little food, little time to sleep and no time to rest. I was starved, exhausted and seriously sick. When I got too sick to work, I was sent to a death camp waiting to die.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Saroeup “Sara” Im, I grew up in Cambodia where I overcame four years of captivity and mass genocide that claimed two million lives, that’s ¼ of Cambodian population. Through my resilience and God’s help I escaped, fled to America, graduated college, and wrote an award-winning book called “How I Survived the Killing Fields.”
…and now I speak, coach, and inspire others to have hope, courage, and a positive perspective in life. I live in Florida, and just celebrated 34 years of marriage to my husband.

What sets me apart from others is my difficult life experience. I lived through an unimaginable pain and managed to endure and survive to tell the story. I use my real-life experiences to help others through my book, speaking engagement and coaching.
I’m most proud of my God-Giving ability to use my traumatic experience to inspire my audience to re- focus, gain confidence, build self-leadership while developing resilience.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

While I was held captive for four years, I was desperately separated from my family. I contracted several diseases. I still had to work daily 15 hours a day, 7 days a week, When I got too sick to work, I was sent to an infirmary, waiting to die. However, I escaped for the first time and managed to find work in a kitchen and survived. After I felt better, I was sent back to work in the brutal hash rice fields again. I endured four horrible long years. Eventually, with 3 friends, we made a dangerous escape! After I found my family and reunited. Finally, I made one more escape out of Cambodia to Thailand and ultimately, I arrived in the U.S.A. and pursue to bring all my family out of danger. I could have given up on life because it was too hard and hopeless. However, I keep on pushing forward and never give up. I recover from my traumatic journey and live a happy life. This process illustrates my resilience.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

When the Communist Khmer Rouge took control of the country, they shut down the whole country. That means I cannot call or write to connect with my loving family. They shut down all forms of transportation, therefore, I cannot go back home. I really wanted to be with my family to help out during this horrible time.

My mission, at that time was to fight for my life to stay alive so that when the circumstances change, I can go to my hometown to find my family. That was my goal that drives my creative journey.

Now, my mission is to use my life traumatic experiences to inspire and coach others to have hope, be resilience, confident and productive.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.saraim.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SaraImSpeakerAuthor
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/saraim-speaker-author/
• Other: https://www.saraim.com/vipgift https://www.saraim.com/book https://www.facebook.com/sara.imm.3/

Image Credits
Kate Bennett.