Ke Huy Quan reflects on his family's escape from post-war Vietnam on 'Settle In'

Transcript

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Amna Nawaz: Actor Ke Huy Quan went from arriving in America as a refugee to starring in “Indiana Jones” and “The Goonies.” Decades later, he made an Oscar-winning comeback.

In the latest episode of our PBS News podcast “Settle In,” I spoke with him about his debut memoir, “Never Say Die,” which starts with his family’s harrowing attempts to escape postwar Vietnam.

Ke Huy Quan, Author, “Never Say Die”: My parents have nine kids, so there’s 11 of us. So their whole idea was that if we were to all escape at the same time, the chance of us making out, it’s unlikely.

So, very early on, they decided we’re going to separate. So my mom took three of my siblings, including my best friend, David. They got on a boat and went to Malaysia. And they made it on the first attempt.

And so my mom and three of my siblings were separated for more than a year-and-a-half.

Amna Nawaz: I mean, for a parent to have to make that kind of decision, I can’t even imagine. Have you talked to your parents about that, about that moment and having to make those kinds of decisions for your family?

Ke Huy Quan: Interestingly, no. We never spoke about it. I think that’s why I love that quote that I put in the very beginning of the boat. “No one ever puts their kids on a boat unless the unless the water is safer than land,” from Warsan Shire.

Amna Nawaz: Yes, the poet, yes.

Ke Huy Quan: And that really speaks volumes to what my parents were going through, the incredibly difficult decision that they had to make.

Amna Nawaz: I love you quoted Warsan Shire as well that line from the poem about no one leaves home unless home is the mouth of a shark. Is that what it felt like?

Ke Huy Quan: Yes. It was really incredible, and I didn’t really know — it was — believe it or not, it’s been almost 50 years. None of our family members ever talked about it, and because…

Amna Nawaz: Never?

Ke Huy Quan: Never.

And because they were so — such distant memories, I wanted to make sure that what I remembered is accurate.

Amna Nawaz: Yes.

Ke Huy Quan: So, right before I sat down to write this book, I actually called some of my older siblings, which I know because of they were — they were at a — at that age where they remember much more than I did.

Amna Nawaz: And did they?

Ke Huy Quan: They were older. And they did.

So, having that conversation with them was unbelievable. And it was just as traumatic for them, but I — each of us dealt with that trauma in our own separate and individual ways. And what they told me was exactly how I remembered it. But they had it even more tough because they were older.

I was 7. I was well protected, even though, being in that circumstances, they did everything they can to shield me from, honestly everything, that was going on. I just — I didn’t know much of it. So, having that conversation with them was really unbelievable, and I’m glad I did.

Now I get to understand a little bit of what they went through. And, interestingly enough, they have — they have to read the book to fully understand what I went through, because we never shared.

Amna Nawaz: And you can watch that full conversation and more episodes of “Settle In” on our YouTube page or wherever you get your podcasts.