The Stolen Years (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9798246310359)

When Phalla transmigrates into 1969 Cambodia as Soriya, she has one mission: save Kheang, the man she's loved across lifetimes, from the nightmare she knows is coming. She marries him. Prepares him. Tries desperately to convince him to leave before April 17, 1975-the day the Khmer Rouge will take Phnom Penh and transform Cambodia into Year Zero. But Kheang is a teacher, devoted to his students and his village, and no amount of warning can make him abandon them. When the revolution comes, Phalla discovers that foreknowledge cannot prevent tragedy. It only means you see it coming.

What follows is a seventeen-year journey through genocide, labor camps, and refugee limbo-a test of whether love can survive when humanity itself is being systematically destroyed. As Phalla struggles to keep herself and Kheang alive through the Khmer Rouge's brutal reign, she learns that surviving isn't the same as living, that freedom isn't guaranteed even after escape, and that sometimes the cruelest fate is coming within one day of salvation. When she finally wakes in 2026, she carries memories of a life fully lived and a love fully lost-and must decide whether understanding her family's past was worth the price of experiencing it herself.

Content Note: This novel contains depictions of the Cambodian genocide under the Khmer Rouge regime, including forced labor, starvation, family separation, ethnic targeting, violence against women, and child death. It portrays the Khmer Rouge period and its impact on ordinary Cambodians with historical accuracy and deep respect for those who suffered and survived.