Anh Do: The Happiest Refugee

Some people really have a hard start to life. Anh Do was one such person. At the age of two, along with forty members of his family, he left Vietnam in a small , nine by two and a half metre fishing boat. After surviving two pirate attacks, enduring the hot sun and storms, and nearly dying of thirst, he and his family were rescued by a German ship and taken to Malaysia. They waited at a refugee camp for three months and were then offered sanctuary in Australia.

Though they had very little, Anh's family were used to hard work and did all they could to provide the best for their three children. Anh's father was game to try anything to provide an income and sometimes this ended up in rather hilarious ways, such as the time he brought home a pheasant after bidding unsuccessfully for a pair of alpacas. The happiest time in the family's life was when they had they were living on the farm. Sadly this ended in a rather devastating way with all the ducks being poisoned through bad feed. This was the beginning of Anh's father's descent into drink; a descent which eventually lead to him leaving the family when Anh was 13.

Ahn shares both funny and tear-jerking episodes from his life as a teenager, his early experiences with standup comedy, his reconciliation with his father, his courtship and marriage, and his more recent forays into television with programs such as Deal or No Deal and Dancing with the Stars.

Ahn's mother was his constant inspiration in the way she worked and sacrificed much so that her children could succeed. It was a joy for him to see her blossom later into a confident speaker in her own right.

This is an extraordinary, uplifting and inspiring story of a wonderful Aussie personality.