He is a "WALKING MIRACLE" AS HE SURVIVED SO MUCH. The story traces his survival from the forced evacuation of the cities by the Khmer Rouge, as well as escaping their forced labor camps when he was a boy, to becoming a boy merchant selling and trading items on the borders of Vietnam and Thailand. Tha was able to save up enough gold to hire a guide to take him across the land-mine infested areas of Cambodia into a refugee camp in Thailand, when he was just sixteen. He persevered in the refugee camp for six long years, before he was granted acceptance to go to Seattle, Washington, in the USA. His story delves into the psychology of survival, and offers hope for others who at times need to pull themselves up by their own boot straps, even if their boots have holes and perhaps no straps. Tha Chhay's testament to the horrors of the Cambodian genocide, offers perspective into current day political turmoil around the world.

"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 was born in Sisaphon, Cambodia. "Into the Shadows, I Ran" is his autobiographical story of surviving the Khmer Rouge Holocaust, his copying, striving, and thinking creatively as to how to secure his escape against many odds. He was able to eventually make it to America. After years of working in applied industrial textiles, making products for aerospace and medical companies, Tha felt it ws time to share his story with the world, so his family's struggle to survive will not be forgotten.