Some stories cross generations. Others cross oceans.

For Suddenly Different guest Eric Em, his family’s story carried both. Born in Vietnam to Cambodian parents who fled a brutal regime, Eric’s life began in exile — cradled on a boat that survived eight pirate attacks, months in a refugee camp, and an unshakable belief in freedom.

At a Christmas table decades later, he finally heard the story in full — the terror, the courage, and the single sheet of paper that changed everything: “Congratulations, the Australian Government has accepted you.”

Now a storyteller and community leader, Eric honours his parents’ legacy through connection and compassion. Together, Leigh-Anne Sharland and Eric Em explore intergenerational trauma, resilience, and the power of story to turn silence into light.

Across Oceans, Into Light – The Day Hope Spoke English is a reminder that the human spirit can survive anything — and that sometimes the most suddenly different moment of all is hearing the story that made your life possible.