Sequel to "When Heaven and Earth Changed Places". This memoir is about the author's adjustment to living in the US. Covers her relationships with the men in her life including her three sons. Ly wants to go back to Vietnam to build medical clinics. Not easy to get US approval....nor is it easy to work with the Vietnamese. Gives a picture of life in Vietnam up until 1989..... Recommend to anyone going to Vietnam or interested in Vietnam.

I know this subject does not appeal to everyone, but as an AmerAsian child who is the product of the Vietnam war, this book touched my heart. I also read her first biography "When HEaven and Earth Changed Places" and was equally moved.

Incredible representation of the Vietnam War from the Vietnamese perspective as well as a story of hope and perseverance. A must read whether you are studying the Vietnam War or just want to get a better understanding.

3.5/5

A sequel to "When Heaven and Earth Changed Places," the book is self-contained enough to be read as a stand alone. Hayslip is determined, tenacious, driven to succeed at virtually any cost. This is admirable in many ways, but you sense it comes at the expense of her three sons.

She also makes decisions that a little commonsense thought processing would avoid, but I have to keep in mind she is contending with cultural forces and past trauma I cannot even imagine. Her Buddhist beliefs guide her life and she eventually achieves much of what she believes she was destined for -- to improve the lives of the village people at her ancestral home, and to foster better relations between Vietnam & America.

I enjoyed this book.

Great!

Set mostly in America after Hayslip flees Viet Nam. You can imagine how exciting a story set in suburban California is compared to one set in wartime Viet Nam. The book is alright until a bit less than halfway through, after which Hayslip makes a certain life decision at which I cringed so hard I had to stop reading and return the book immediately. Read this if you want to know what happens after the events of her first memoir. Avoid if you want it to be as exciting, heartwarming, or sensical as the first memoir.

Nice to know what she did after she came to the states but not nearly of an impact as her first book "When Heaven and Earth Changed Place."

It was the first book I read from cover to cover that I really enjoyed back in H.S.

Not as good as her first, but worth reading if you read the first.

This was her second memoir or second part of her autobiography and not nearly as good as her first one. I highly recommend When Heaven and Earth Changed Places, that one truly is exceptional

Good long book... Took forever to read