For author Toan Nguyen, 2013 was a year of bad luck related to the number thirteen. In Tragedy to Triumph, he tells his family story's that began with a burglary in his home in North Bundaberg, Australia, and culminated with a flooding tragedy and evacuations brought on by Cyclone Oswald.

In this memoir, he shares details of the flooding and how the community looked like it had endured a global war with buildings-timber, brick, and steel-twisted, wrecked, and torn and how his home was in ruins, a muddy swamp, every single item destroyed. Tragedy to Triumph narrates how he put his heart, soul, time, and effort to rebuild the house and his business.

Providing personal insight into disaster, Nguyen tells a story of how embracing resilience and persistence helped him and his family gain the courage to overcome the adversities they endured.