Kim Ha was six months’ pregnant when...

Kim Ha was six months’ pregnant when she, her husband, Vinh, and their four children risked death and imprisonment to escape Vietnam in 1980.

They were among the land refugees, the thousands of Vietnamese who crossed Cambodia in an attempt to reach refugee camps on the Thai border in the wake of the Communist victory over South Vietnam.

In the new English-language edition of her 1992 memoir, “Stormy Escape: A Vietnamese Woman’s Account of Her 1980 Flight,” Garden Grove resident Ha chronicles her family’s harrowing two-week passage across Cambodia, followed by seven months living in squalid refugee camps before boarding an American jetliner bound for the United States.

Ha will discuss “Stormy Escape” and answer questions during a bilingual presentation of her book at 1 p.m. today. at the Vietnamese Catholic Center, 1538 N. Century Blvd., Santa Ana.

The event at the center will include entertainment and six speakers who will introduce Ha and discuss the Vietnamese refugee issues raised in her book. The speakers include Anne Frank, librarian of the Southeast Asian Archive at UC Irvine, who wrote in her foreword to the English-language edition of Ha’s book:

“One must marvel at Kim Ha’s story of resilience and strength. . . . It is especially important that those of us who have been fortunate to live our lives in freedom understand the traumas refugees endure in order to start a new life in a foreign land.”

Ha’s book began as a series of articles that were published in the early ‘80s by four Vietnamese newspapers in California and Canada. In 1992, Ha published the articles as a Vietnamese-language book.

Ha, 46, an auditor for the State Compensation Insurance Fund, says the English-language edition of her book was published, by McFarland & Co., to help English-speaking people understand why Vietnamese refugees left their homeland, “and to raise a voice for the refugees who are still in Southeast Asian countries.

“A lot of people think Vietnamese refugees escaped because of economic reasons, but in fact it was for political reasons--a search for freedom,” she says.

As she writes of Vietnamese refugees in her book:

“They are human beings who earnestly love life and freedom. They are willing to face challenge and hardship.

“They are the heroes of the times.”

“Stormy Escape” is available from Ha for $30 by calling (714) 265-1512, or from McFarland for $35.50 (includes shipping and handling) by calling (800) 253-2181.

Also this week:

* Earlene Fowler of Fountain Valley, author of “Irish Chain” and other mysteries, will lead a mini-workshop at 2 p.m. today before the meeting of the Orange County chapter of Sisters in Crime in the community room at Pacifica Hospital, 18888 Delaware St., Huntington Beach. The regular meeting begins at 3 p.m. Meetings are open to women and men mystery fans and authors. $5 for nonmembers. Information: (714) 897-9907.

* Marlene Holloway, author of “The Wedding Book,” will conduct a free seminar for brides-to-be at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Borders Books and Music, 429 Associated Road, Brea.

* Christine T. Jorgensen, author of “Curl Up and Die,” and Maryls Millhiser, author of “It’s Murder Going Home,” will sign at 6 p.m. Thursday at Book Carnival, 348 S. Tustin Ave., Orange. They also will sign at 11 a.m. Saturday at Coffee, Tea & Mystery, 13232 Springdale St., Westminster.

* Martin J. Smith will sign copies of his new suspense thriller “Time Release” and discuss repressed-memory prosecutions at 2 p.m. Saturday at Barnes & Noble, 1870 Harbor Blvd., Costa Mesa.

* John Siracuse, author of “Commit to Be Fit,” will speak and sign at 7 p.m. Saturday at Borders Books and Music, 429 Associated Road, Brea.

* Su Falcon Soref, author of “The Mechanics of Poetry,” will conduct a free poetry-writing seminar 9 a.m.-noon Saturday at Borders Books and Music, 429 Associated Road, Brea.

* Authors Marcus Porus, Shirley Porus and Philip Lange and illustrator Steven Jay Porus, who do the Gribich and Friends series, will read and sign at 2 p.m. Saturday at Barnes & Noble, 1870 Harbor Blvd., Costa Mesa.

Send information about book-related events at least 10 days before event to: Dennis McLellan, O.C. Books & Authors, Life & Style, The Times, 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626.