About the Author

Tuong H Le is a Vietnamese immigrant, whose life was profoundly shaped by the turbulent history of his motherland. Born in 1971, four years prior to the “liberation” of South Vietnam by the Communist North, he was overwhelmed by the unforgettable chaos and devastation of war. After enduring relentless political oppression following the nation’s unification, Tuong’s parents decided in July 1981 to risk their own lives and those of their six children by escaping the country on a rickety fishing boat that was ill-prepared for the open sea.

After the boat’s compass was destroyed by a storm, the family was lost for several weeks, battling additional storms, starvation, and thirst. However, their suffering took a fateful turn when they miraculously came upon Hainan Island, China. From there, they found refuge in Hong Kong before finally resettling in Dallas, Texas.

Tuong attended middle school and high school in Dallas, before earning a B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin in 1992. However, during those years in Austin, a profound personal event reshaped his life path when his father was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. That led Tuong to reevaluate his professional choices and ultimately to set his sights on a medical career.

He attended the Medical Scientist Training Program at the University of Minnesota, where he earned his Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering in 1997 and his M.D. the following year. He completed his internship in Internal Medicine in 1999 at Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas, his residency in Radiology in 2004 at the University of California at San Francisco, and his fellowship in Neuroradiology in 2005, also at UCSF.

Today, Tuong is a prominent radiologist in Dallas, known for his numerous scientific papers and textbook chapters. But despite his commendable professional achievements, his true passion lies in storytelling. His memoir, Boat 1513, shares with the world his family’s remarkable escape from Vietnam and the subsequent struggles and blessings they experienced in the New World.