About Me
What inspired you to become a freelance editor?
Shortly after my daughter was born, my partner and I spent our family leave immersed in memoirs—many written by survivors of the Khmer Rouge. I couldn’t help but think about my parents’ and relatives’ experiences as survivors as I kept reading. My mother often shared stories of the suffering, grief, fear, and pain she and her siblings experienced as children. But she also told stories of resilience. Courage. Camaraderie. As a family, they persevered through famine, extreme labor, disease, and threat of violence while in the labor camps. Together, they walked across fields riddled with landmines because, even as children, they knew that there was more to life than war.
Through my mother’s stories and the memoirs of other survivors, my relationship with words and my identity as a Khmer American both began to transform. I no longer wanted to simply read stories—I wanted to help others shape their own. I had a new mission: to specialize in editing services and empower others to share their truths. I hoped to develop the literary prowess to be an editor who could help others elevate their stories, voices, and experiences that deserve to be told.
Even while returning to full-time remote work and raising an infant, I followed my heart and earned a certificate from the University of Washington’s Editing Program.
Editing is my outlet for processing my intergenerational trauma and, in turn, my other identities. I am a Khmer American, but I am also a soon-to-be husband, a healthcare administrator, and a father. It gives me hope that, through this work, I can help my daughter develop her own meaningful relationship with her Khmer American heritage.
How do your lived experiences influence your approach to editing?
Too often, English-speaking writers, editors, and critics remain confined by the (often Eurocentric) grammar conventions they were once taught. These prescriptive and elitist attitudes fail to recognize that grammar goes beyond a set of conventional rules. Although grammar is a set of guidelines for how we can communicate, it cannot tell us how we should communicate. Grammar shapes meaning, but meaning should always drive grammar.
As a non-binary Khmer American, I know how it feels to share one’s truth in a world that may not always make space for it. I had to break conventional norms to make space for my own truth. Because of this, I believe that there is a type of liberation—and self-actualization—that can only be found in one’s own written words.
I am not here to enforce rules; I am here to help you follow rules when you want to follow them and, more importantly, break the rules when you want to break them. My priority is ensuring that your voice is heard exactly as you had intended. Instead of snuffing out your voice with rigid corrections, I will help your fire show through the smoke.
What shapes your life beyond editing?
I am a proud parent to a sharp-witted toddler who already channels the attitude of a teenager.
I am a soon-to-be husband to an incredible woman I’m endlessly grateful for.
I am an administrator at Seattle Children’s Hospital, dedicated to making a difference in the pediatric residency program.
I am a nerd with a passion for dabbling in most things geeky and fun.