I shouldn't be here. If my early formative years were any indication of my future and what awaited me, then I shouldn't be where I am today. I shouldn't be a public elected official. I shouldn't be married and raising a beautiful family I love, adore, and cherish in a country that gave me a second chance. I shouldn't have survived. But I did.

Against all odds, I am here. Alive, thriving, and living proof that where you start does not determine where you 'II finish. The path that began in war-torn Vietnam has taken me across oceans and obstacles, through hardship and heartbreak, toward purpose and possibility.

As I wrote this book, something miraculous happened. For 50 years, I believed my father, an American soldier in the Vietnam War, had died before I was born. I carried that absence like a shadow. But with faith, prayer, and the help of DNA tests and tireless research, I found him alive.

If you take anything from my story, let it be this: You hold the power to overcome your pain, your past, and your doubts. You were not born to stay broken. Within you is the resilience to rise, the courage to push forward, and the brilliance to shine even when no one else sees it yet.

People may underestimate you. Let them. Then go prove them wrong.