A rich journey across the Pacific Ocean to find one's true home and identity amidst loss, grief, and mental illness.
Anh Nguyen is 17 years old and a senior in high school working on a watercolor art series when she experiences her first manic episode. She is diagnosed with bipolar disorder, put on medications, and she and her Vietnamese-American family are suddenly thrown into the world of mental health treatment and recovery. Anh's mother Xuan grapples with understanding her daughter's struggles, while also trying to make sense of her own loss and grief of leaving behind her family and motherland of Vietnam to raise her children in America. The family find refuge across the Pacific Ocean on the warm shores of Honolulu, Hawaii, Anh navigates growing up in a refugee family in a new land and culture, and dealing with the struggles of her own mind. She finds solace in her love for the ocean and her art. This is the story of finding one's identity and place of belonging in a shifting landscape of tradition, heritage, and culture, and the healing power of art, water, and love.
Editorial Reviews:
Powered by story and strengthened by science, Dr. Elizabeth Nguyen, like Lisa Genova before her, has penned a gripping story of one family's journey through the heartbreak of mental illness. A beautifully written coming-of-age story that details the highs and lows of bi-polar disorder, against the cross-cultural grace and beauty of two Pacific locations - Vietnam and Hawaii. A poignant and moving novel.- R. Bruce Logan & Elaine Head, authors of Back to Vietnam: Tours of the Heart As an Asian American child and adolescent psychiatrist, I highly recommend Aloha Vietnam not only for its sensitive portrayal of illness, but also for its moving depiction of an immigrant's experience."- Dr. Harry Wang, MD, Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist Edge of your seat fixed reading: as soon as I settled with Aloha Vietnam I was hooked on the raw emotion pouring deep from within the words. Elizabeth's passion for her cultural roots bursts throughout this poignant encounter of a family both found and lost within their new experiences. I loved it. - Natalie Farrell Artist. Presenter. Writer + Author of "Light The Way" At the heart of the story is the mother-daughter relationship told through thebackdrop of the emotions of a lost culture, the grief of which can be tasted through thepages. - Victoria Smisek, author of "Falling Awake - A Heroine's Journey" This enchanting book