“Was the cause of my ­mother’s illness a private secret, something to be found only in her mind and body? Or was the cause an open secret, history itself, which hammered on her repeatedly ­until it fractured her? Or was the cause both a private secret and an open secret?
Vietnamese ­people, how do you separate what is unique to you and your own personal trauma from war, colonization, the division and reunification of the country? From becoming a refugee or staying behind or being left ­behind? From being the child of refugees, soldiers, witnesses, survivors? From being the child of ­those who did not survive?
Vietnamese ­people, how do you separate yourself and your memories from history? Your private secrets from open secrets? Your self from your otherness? Your truth from your betrayal?”

This was thought provoking and pairs well with other recent works on craft and colonization, like The Message by Ta-Nehisi Coates and  Recognizing the Stranger by Isabella Hammad. I wish I had checked out an eBook rather than the audiobook though. The author was not the best narrator, at least for me, and his stilted reading distracted me from his points and his otherwise very lyrical and impactful writing style.