Review: The Best We Could Do
You should know that any book chosen by UCLA as a common book will eventually be read by me. (Go Bruins!)
Thi Bui's illustrated memoir is fantastic! It took me several days to get through the first 70 pages, which introduce various family members. Once the author began exploring her parents' backstory and the way in which their lives were shaped by war, I couldn't put it down! It was fascinating, tragic, and emotional.
My future father-in-law is a Vietnam War veteran who lost multiple family members during the war. He too was displaced after the war, leaving Vietnam to eventually build a home in Germany. The scars of war persist long after the war is over. Recently, my significant other told me, "I have all of my important documents in a suitcase at my father's house. He made us do this, because he wants us to be ready to go at a moment's notice." The father in Bui's memoir makes his children do the same thing. When I suggested that my father-in-laws emphasis on being prepared might be related to his war experience, my significant other responded, "I never considered it, but that's probably the reason. He lost his mother during the war, because she wasn't prepared to evacuate her house quick enough."
Bui's parents survived war, trauma, and were raised their children in the best way they knew
. This book will help readers build compassion for the people in our own lives who did "the best they could do," given their circumstances.