Children of immigrants, have a quite unique upbringing than most kids. We often live in the shadows of our parents dreams and hope for our own futures.  That is why many of us usually are pushed into vocations, which are considered traditionally “safe” or “prosperous”. Rarely we question, why our parents even push us into these directions, because we feel they know better.

As we grow older, we find some of these beliefs, are often anachronistic, and this is where the clash of cultures occurs. Never do we ask how they came up with this belief system and was it the same for them growing up where they came from. Often, I find myself still thinking of how my parents came to America and what they both had to endure to get here. In Thi Bui’s The Best We Could Do, she unveils to the world what led her family to America and all the pains her family had to undergo.

In the first few pages, Thi Bui, gives a reader a glimpse of the birth of her first son, as her struggles with motherhood becomes instantly apparent. As she recovers in the hospital, she starts to ask questions of why her parents act the way they do. This is where she goes quite deep in to both her paternal and maternal family histories, which is rife with many tragedies and political implications to what was going on in Vietnam. By book’s end, Bui is very much more appreciative of her family’s journeys to find a better life in America.

Overall, an excellent memoir that gives a complex multilayered view of the worlds where immigrants come from and the circumstances that lead them to where they call home. The story by Thi Bui is intimate, harrowing, heartbreaking, and necessary. The art by Bui is graceful and pulsating. Altogether, a melancholic but ultimately inspiring book that will understand the dilemma of immigrants and refugees.

Story: Thi Bui Art: Thi Bui
Story: 10 Art: 10 Overall: 10 Recommendation: Buy