"Books have the power to tell,

stories have the power to heal"

Sophie Hieu

What does it mean to be yourself?

Does success equal studies, work, marriage, children, and property?

Is life a checklist?

I think of my family who was massacred. Our fathers, who only worked. Our mothers, who could never study.

We live without truly being alive.

We don't allow ourselves to live.

We play it safe. We are afraid.

It is better to try and scratch your face than to end up enraged and full of regrets.

I faced my fears, I left everything, sold everything. On an expedition, far from comfort, masks fall, and true colors are shown. Nature frees, and nature releases. People come together or fall apart very quickly.

I landed in Swedish Lapland to help the refugees. I went on expeditions all over Scandinavia for 2 years, on skis, on snowshoes, and even damaged by the cold, on a dog sled, until I ended up in a kayak. I paddled the rivers of Nepal I have always dreamed of. Trained as a guide, but in doubt (going home or going on adventures), the North of the North has put me back on track.

I am aware that my writings, my actions, and my choices impact people to the point that they feel ready to rock the house. In those moments, I remind myself that everything happens for a reason.

As a Buddhist, the leader for me is a “boddhisattva”; the one who stays to help others, when he can walk away. As a writer, my mission is to share, write and tell stories that both empower and represent the reader. As a coach, I work with people who are driven by their transmission to others.

For ages, men have done two things: they made fire and shared stories.

Each story is a piece of log added to the flames.

Each person is a burning fire.

To light a torch and pass the flame; that is the duty of a writer.

And that is why I write.