Gold That Endures: Healing Intergenerational Wounds Through Heritage and Hope
By Polly Woodbury, LAT 2025 Cohort
In Cambodia, gold has always meant more than beauty. It was a form of safety; something families could trust when everything else was uncertain. During the Khmer Rouge, people buried their gold in the earth, hoping to return to it one day; while others sold it to survive. To this day, gold remains a symbol of security and endurance, a legacy that outlasts time, currency, and regimes.
For me, gold has come to symbolize memory: the resilience, stories, and traditions my mother’s generation carried across oceans. My mother, the eldest daughter of seven, led her family through the atrocities of the Cambodian genocide and across the border into Thailand’s Khao-I-Dang Refugee Camp. She survived years of forced labor, starvation, and loss, only to face the uncertainty of resettlement in the United States.
Growing up in Tacoma, Washington, I watched my family rebuild their lives while carrying invisible wounds, as the trauma did not end when the war did. It transformed into silence, exhaustion, and a constant need to stay alert. My mother rarely spoke about what she endured, but I could feel its weight in our home – in the focus on the future, carefulness with money, and the way endurance became our family’s way of life.
As I got older, I realized how many Cambodian families around us were navigating similar scars: language barriers, poverty, and unaddressed mental health struggles that were remnants of war and displacement. The effects of intergenerational trauma rippled through our community, showing up as night terrors, anxiety, disconnection, and an unspoken fear of instability. Yet amid the pain, I also witnessed profound strength like parents working long hours, neighbors supporting one another, and children like me finding ways to turn inherited pain into purpose.
This understanding led me to pursue dual master’s degrees in social work and public health. I aimed to study how trauma impacts communities like mine and, more importantly, how we heal. My research focused on Cambodian mental health and intergenerational trauma, looking at both the suffering and the resilience passed from one generation to the next. Through that process, I came to understand something essential: affirming our cultural identity is not just about pride, it is a pathway to healing.
When descendants of refugees reconnect with our roots by learning our language, understanding our history, and sharing our families’ stories, we begin to break the cycle of silence. We transform inherited pain into connection and meaning. Cultural affirmation becomes a protective factor for mental health and community resilience.
For me, that affirmation took many forms: studying Khmer, spending time in Cambodia, and eventually creating Angkorian Collection, a jewelry brand inspired by Cambodian art, architecture, and heritage. What began as a creative project slowly evolved into something deeper – a meditation on legacy.
The intricate carvings and motifs found in Angkor’s temples remind me of everything our families had to leave behind: beauty carved into stone that has endured centuries of war, loss, and renewal. By reimagining these designs in modern form, I wanted to create something our generation could wear with pride and as a reminder that the strength and artistry of our ancestors still live within us.
I am deeply inspired by Cambodian artisans; from the goldsmiths who once crafted royal regalia in ancient times to the jewelry makers at Phnom Penh’s Central Market who keep those traditions alive today. Their work, like our culture itself, continues to evolve without forgetting its roots.
Creating Angkorian Collection was not about starting a business, it was about reconnecting. It became a way to honor my mother’s generation while exploring what it means to belong as a Khmer American. Every design felt like a bridge between past and present, a tangible act of remembering with pride instead of pain.
Through SEARAC’s Leadership and Advocacy Training program, I have come to see how healing and advocacy are deeply intertwined. Whether through policy, storytelling, or art; each of us carries the power to shape how our community’s story is told–not as one of perpetual trauma, but as one of survival, resilience, and hope.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of Southeast Asian American resettlement. As I reflect on my mother’s journey from the rice fields of Cambodia to a new life in America, I am reminded that healing is not a single moment, but a generational effort. We honor our elders’ sacrifices by finding the courage to face what they could not speak of, to reclaim what was lost, and to pass on pride through the pain.
Fifty years later, the Cambodian story continues; in classrooms and policy rooms, in art and advocacy, in the gold we wear and the memories we carry. Our heritage endures because we do. Through remembering, creating, and speaking our truth, we ensure that our legacy, like gold, will shine long after us.
Polly Woodbury is a mixed-race Khmer American social worker, public health practitioner, and founder of Angkorian Collection. She is a 2025 SEARAC Leadership and Advocacy Training cohort member passionate about healing intergenerational trauma and celebrating Khmer heritage through art and storytelling. Polly also documents her travels and experiences living in Cambodia on Instagram @POLLYWOOOD.