31: Episode 31: The Texas Killing Fields: Tot Tran Harriman with guest reader Porter Duong

Tot Tran Harriman survived the Vietnam War. She witnessed history when she was evacuated on the last boat out of Saigon before it fell. She lived through being held in a refugee camp in Pennsylvania along with 20,000 other refugees. And made a life for herself in Maine, raising three children, starting new businesses, and helping other refugees. But in 2001, she also became one of America’s missing women.

This week our guest reader is actor, writer, and producer Porter Duong whose work showcases stories within the Asian narrative and diaspora. She is a first generation Vietnamese-American, born to refugees of the Vietnam War and the proud daughter of her mother, a gifted singer who found her way to freedom as one of the many "boat people." Her first lead role in the independent film, Touch, garnered a Best Actress and Audience Choice Award. A groundbreaking story of the dynamics of an immigrant family and their identity in America while navigating the afterlife of war. It opened in Vietnam to rave reviews, despite concerns regarding the complicated relationship with the Communist government. She has had significant roles on Emmy award winning shows such as NBC’s This is Us and HBO’s Silicon Valley. Her nonprofit work through The Chimaera Project aims to support and fund women and nonbinary filmmakers. Porter is currently working to publish a collection of poems and short essays woven by love and grief, dedicated to her late mother. You can find Porter on Instagram.

Join us on Patreon! Your support helps us continue to shine light on America’s missing and unidentified women. Flashlight level members also get access to additional content like Behind the Poem, a weekly conversation about the episode’s featured poem, and our monthly true crime/mystery book club. Our April 2024 selection is the nonfiction book Trailed: One Woman's Quest to Solve the Shenandoah Murders by Kathryn Miles.

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To buy Aimee’s book, Doe, it’s available now with University of Akron Press, at Bookshop.org, and Amazon.