FAVORITES

Want to read more about the personal experiences during the Vietnam War era? 
These are some of my favorites that have inspired me over the years to pursue this podcast. Enjoy!

A SIMPLE VOICE WITH LAYERS OF DEPTH

This coming-of-age novel is told beautifully in verse. It captures the story of change for one Vietnamese refugee family, seen through the eyes of a child. The main character was uprooted from her life in Saigon, the only place she had ever known and loved. And while her mom promises that America will give them a better life, it's hard to see that thru the struggles and pain that they had to endure along the way. If you want to introduce your children to the refugee experience this is a great read for pre-teens.

HE WAS AMERASIAN, HE WAS UNWANTED

I read this book in my mid-twenties and even had the chance to have dinner with the author! It was a one-of-a-kind experience to sit across the dinner table from someone I just met, yet I felt like I knew every dark secret and the pain he had to endure as a child that left wounds as an adult. His story is so beautifully articulated and was one of my first inspirations to this project.

HEART-WRENCHING MEMORIES OF SURVIVAL

"On the eighth day my three-year old daughter died, on the ninth my four-year old son died. I wrote a letter, put it in a bottle, hoping someone would find it and let the rest of my family know that we had died at sea." Even though I've owned this book for many years, I have re-read it several times for inspiration that this project can bring forward more voices of the hundreds of thousands of other Boat People survivors.

RAW, EMOTIONAL AND VISUALLY CAPTIVATING

This was my first graphic novel ever! I did not know what to expect and was pleasantly surprised at how much I connected with the illustrations. The author reveals her parents past in order to understand them in the present. Her storying telling is matter-of-fact but her art displays the emotions and rawness in the characters. I welledup with tears just by studying the drawings.

AN EYE-OPENING DEPICTION OF A PROLONGED CONFLICT

My family was from the south and growing up the stories of the war were always told from one side. This documentary opened my eyes to the 'other' sides. Through interviews, recordings and archives that have never been shared before in mass media it reveals the true intentions of American policy makers and their lack of understanding of a very complex country.