Author Archives: allehr01

KIRKUS REVIEW “An account of murder, starvation, bravery, and faith under Cambodia’s dreaded Khmer Rouge regime.” In 1974, Siv Eng, a Cambodian teenager from the rural town of Battambang, was full of hope for a promising future when she joined her younger sister, Sourn Leng, in a Phnom Penh apartment. There, they planned to liveContinue reading “Kirkus Review”

NATIONAL INDIE EXCELLENCE AWARDS: History Finalist 2020 NATIONAL INDIE EXCELLENCE AWARDS: Multicultural Non-Fiction Finalist 2020 NEXT GENERATION INDIE BOOK AWARD: Historical Memoir Winner 2020 INDIE DIAMOND BOOK AWARDS: Grand Prize Winner for Nonfiction 2019 Featured in Kirkus Reviews Magazine 15 June 2019 Indie Reader Best Reviewed Books of the Month October 2019

“In precise, evocative prose (“In Phnom Penh, we were living in a house of fractured glass that was on the verge of shattering”), Allen tells the incredible story of her aunt Siv Eng, who fought to survive the Khmer Rouge’s reign of terror in 1970s Cambodia. Told in the first person, the memoir begins withContinue reading “Booklife Reviews”

“GIRL WHO SAID GOODBYE is an important human story told with a wealth of compassion. The work offers a seminar in Cambodian history and the Khmer Rouge, as well as a harrowing account of resilience. Eng carefully describes the hierarchy of the new Khmer Rouge society, educating the uniformed and reminding the knowledgeable. She notesContinue reading “Indie Reader “IR Approved””

Rebel Press, 337 pages, (paperback) $19.99, 9781643399553 (Reviewed: August 2019)“Heather Allen brings to life the voice of a young, determined, and remarkable Cambodian girl–the author’s aunt– in this gripping true story of horror and survival under the brutal Khmer Rouge regime (1975-1979).In a violent military coup, Siv Eng, daughter of middle-class, prosperous, educated parents, andContinue reading “Blueink Starred Review”