This is a graphic novel from Thi Bui, who was using Art as a way to share oral history. She used this form to make sense of her family displacement, assimulation process.

I love how accessible the graphics are; they are really engaging and easy to navigate.

The novel begins with how Indochina came to be, and the North- South divide as per the Geneva Accords. The present day Vietnam is born after numerous assassinations, massacres and the eventually withdrawal of US troops.

Thi's story started with creating her own family, and how this has made her reflect on her own experiences of parentification, sense of loneliness (even with close proximity), and the keen desire to understand and make sense of her family history.

The novel is split into 10 different chapters - each weaving deeper into the ancestral history and trauma resulting from conflict. Each chapter focuses on a different aspect of Thi's life- from the birth of her own child, to the Ghosts of her siblings and the difficult choices her parents made during the war.

Thi also shared her slice of life moments during her childhood in America.

What is clear is that;
we may parent how we were parented.
We all have/have aspirations, and although this may be hidden or dimmed - we all had dreams and hopes.
Our ancestors lives on through us
Memories are stories we make to cope with our thoughts.