Indies Introduce

Non-Fiction

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  House of Sticks, Ly Tran
  Scribner, 9781501118814, June 1, 2021 (Non-Fiction)
  

  “This remarkable memoir documents Ly's journey from a young Vietnamese immigrant to a university graduate. Ly does not shy away from the rougher details of her childhood and the cultural clash she and her family experienced while trying to acclimate to America. This is a story of the American Dream, and the remarkable resilience it takes to achieve it.”

  Olivia Edmunds-Diez, Boulder Book Store, Boulder, CO
  
  

  “This compelling and honest memoir is both heartbreaking and heartwarming. Ly and her family emigrated to the United States in the early 1990s. Once here, they lived well below the poverty line, struggling and scratching out a life. Ly’s father was imprisoned in a ‘re-education’ camp in Vietnam for over ten years. and those emotional scars and PTSD resonated through their family life. The biggest fall out was her father’s refusal to believe that Ly needed glasses from the third grade on. Reading about Ly’s deteriorating eyesight, even though she excelled at school, was really stressful. There is a fair amount of introspection as Ly tries to understand her parents and about mental health issues. She’s generous and not quite forgiving, but understanding that their past affects her future.”

  Audrey Huang, Belmont Books, Belmont, MA
  

  “Childhood memoirs are tricky, but Tran is skilled at bringing forth her youth alongside reflections brought on by age and understanding.  A heart wrenching read of the difficulties of survival, mental health issues, and a fractured family. Though filled with struggle and pain, House of Sticks manages to glide on wings of hope and possibility.”

  Carrie Koepke, Skylark Bookshop, Columbia, MO