February 28

My Korean Deli: Risking It All for a Convenience Store

By Ben Ryder Howe

Many of us think, at some point in our lives, that we would like to own a store or restaurant.  Ben Ryder Howe actually followed up that idea.

The author, an editor for the Paris Review, decides to go along with his Korean-American wife's suggestion that they buy a Brooklyn deli as a project for her parents.  While mother-in-law Kay takes on the day shifts, Ben gets to work nights, following his day job at the editor-in-chief (George Plimpton)'s luxury apartment.  Despite the struggles of learning the ropes of the cash register and the lottery machine, the long hours, the occasional sting (usually re underage tobacco sales), Ben finds he likes the work; though the 9-hour shifts were physically and psychologically demanding, he enjoyed the community and the face-to-face contacts.  Though it's clear he can't maintain this pace forever, he sums it up positively, "The work was varied and challenging, and it took a certain expertise to get each facet of it right.  The challenges evolved.  There wasn't a minute when I didn't feel mentally stimulated by the tasks at hand.  The labor itself even had, dare I say, a transcendent moment or two" (p 289).  Ben writes poignantly of the toll it can take on family life as he and Gab move into the basement of her parents' Staten Island home, and he humorously depicts many of the characters who are deli regulars during the night shift.  A warm and engaging story!




And there is even a Korean edition!

February 27

Spilling the Beans
By Clarissa Dickson Wright

This delightful autobiography tells the story of the British TV chef, who writes about her descent into - and climb out of - alcoholism.  Born into wealth; Clarissa's mother is an heiress from Australia and her father a successful surgeon who treats the royal family.  But her father is also mean and an alcoholic.  Clarissa determines to become a lawyer and is actually the youngest woman ever admitted to the bar in England.  When her adored mother dies, however, Clarissa's world falls apart.  She spends away her inherited fortune and she, herself, turns to alcohol.  Her career in ruins, she faces her problems and turns to cooking, one of the few pastimes she has always enjoyed.  Clarissa's honest and stiff-upper-lip style make the book interesting, as the reader hears of Clarissa's wealthy but dysfunctional family, her brilliant (though short-lived) law career, and her unexpected rise to TV fame.  It's encouraging to meet someone who overcomes a difficult childhood and the problems that later plague her as an adult to go on to a career as a TV personality and writer who makes no excuses for herself.

There are actually no more copies of this book in RI public libraries, although many of Wright's other titles are available, including her cookbooks and her more recent Clarissa's England: A Gamely Gallop through the English Counties.

Additionally, the first season of her show, "Two Fat Ladies", is available on DVD.  "Two Fat Ladies" is a delightful program, with Clarissa and Jennifer cooking in different venues, from a castle kitchen to a hunting lodge to a monastery kitchen, in each segment.  Sadly, Jennifer Paterson, the other half of the Fat Ladies duo, passed away in 1999.

February 26

Strength in What Remains
By Tracy Kidder


Deo Gratias is a medical student in Burundi when the Hutu-Tutsi genocide breaks out.  Over several months, he manages to escape on foot, witnessing unbelievable horrors.  When he finds his way back to med school, his wealthy friend Jean helps him escape to the United States.  He arrives in New York, homeless and nearly penniless, finally securing a job delivering groceries.   Unbelievably, he runs into some people who want to help support him, (is it just chance - or is it something more?), goes to Columbia University (as an undergraduate), then to Dartmouth Medical School.  He connects with Paul Farmer of Partners-in-Health, who helps Deo reach his goal of providing quality health care by starting clinics in Burundi.  An amazing story!

Today Deo is the founder, president, and CEO of Village Health Works in Kugutu, Burundi.

February 25

Fatal Decision: Edith Cavell, World War I Nurse
By Terri Arthur

One person CAN make a difference.  Edith Cavell has been likened to Florence Nightingale in her commitment to train nurses, and especially in her work in treating wartime casualties.  As a daughter of a clergyman, Edith felt a call to serve, and left her home in Norfolk to train at the London hospital in the 1890,s when nursing was just beginning to be recognized as a career requiring training and employing scientific techniques - and not just a chore relegated to untrained nuns and charwomen.  After working in several settings in England, Edith is invited to go to Brussels and set up that country's first nursing school.  Her serious commitment - and her fluency in French - win the respect of the local doctor and the first few students arrive for training.  It's not long, however, before Germany invades neutral Brussels and German soldiers take control of the city.  When wounded British soldiers arrive at the hospital, Edith is faced to make a decision between treating "the enemy" [of the Germans] or turning them over to German authorities.  She opts to help them, the first of many British soldiers whom she nurses back to health and helps escape (through her contacts) across the border into the Netherlands.  Although Edith and her staff are very careful, a German spy infiltrates the hospital and arrests Edith for helping the enemy.  Shockingly, Edith is convicted and, after a sham trial, executed, causing an international outrage that would have lasting repercussions.

February 24

Major Pettigrew's Last Stand
By Helen Simonsen


Major Ernest Pettigrew is retired, his wife has died, and he rarely sees his adult son Roger.  He seems content to live his quiet life and tend his garden.  When his younger brother dies, he hopes to acquire Bertie's antique Churchill rifle, which was the other one of a pair owned by their father.  His ingrate son, however, is making plans to sell the valuable guns to a collector.  As Major Pettigrew bristles to the changes around him, he finds a kindred spirit in the local Pakistani shopkeeper, Mrs Jasmina Ali, who has recently lost her husband.  The two unexpectedly grow to enjoy each other's company and discussions over literature.   But Mrs Ali is seen by neighbors as an outsider and Ernest is not immune to their prejudice.  Still, it seems their friendship is starting to take a more romantic turn.

This debut novel is very well written, a story dealing with culture clashes and prejudice in modern England.  There are sub-plots around a scheme by friends to "fix up" the Major with a spinster friend, and an effort by developers to transform some rural fields into a modern subdivision.  There are excellent depictions of characters, even secondary characters, and the author treats them in a loving, sensitive way, helping them to see beyond the biases that often robs us of some of our most rewarding relationships.

February 23

Bull Run

By Paul Fleischman

Sixteen different characters from North and South, including soldiers, family members, an artist, an orphan, a doctor, etc) describe their feelings about the war.  As the first major battle looms, excitement builds as relatives bring their picnic lunches to watch from a distant hill what they think will be a quick rout of the enemy, but their initial excitement eventually gives way to disillusionment and fear as the Battle of Bull Run becomes a serious military encounter and the beginning of a long war.

This is a young adult novel, which worked out well as a script for a readers' theatre.

February 22

Mathew Brady: His Work and Photographs  

By George Sullivan

Where Curtis worked with an established medium, Brady was actually a pioneer of the art of photography.  Author George Sullivan delves into much of the chemistry and how-to of early photography (very basically).  He also nicely covers many Civil War battles (it's a good companion work for Paul Fleischman's Bull Run, which has a chapter on a Civil War photographer).  I was surprised to learn that Brady (like Curtis) died in relative poverty.  This book also includes wonderful photographic reproductions and brings Brady's influence into modern times, noting Ken Burns's reliance on Brady's images.

This biography is written for young adults.

February 21

Shadow Catcher: The Life and Work of Edward S. Curtis 
By Laurie Lawlor

This biography only chronicles the life of photographer Edward Curtis, but also the plight of Native Americans in the late 1800s through about 1930.  In his efforts to chronicle the story of the Indians in text, photographs, and recordings, Curtis sacrifices his wealth, his health, and his marriage.  Though hailed as a masterpiece, his 20-volume series does not sell well, and is largely forgotten.  "Shadow Catcher" is the name given to Curtis by the native Americans with whom he works.  The book itself is beautiful, with Curtis's works reproduced on nearly every page.

This is a biography written for young adults.  While a lengthier work will contain more detail, I sometimes like to start out with a YA level biography to get the gist of a person's story before deciding to delve into something more lengthy and time-consuming.  YA bios also tend to include more illustrations, which offer additional insight.

February 20

Destiny of the  Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine, and the Murder of a President
By Candice Millard

What a tragedy James Garfield was shot just five months into his presidency!  He was unusually bright, honest, and beloved.  But the bullet shot by Charles Guiteau, a mentally ill applicant for a government position, did not kill the president.  It was the bungling of the president's many physicians, chiefly Dr. Doctor [yes, his first name] Bliss, who introduced bacteria into the bullet hole, that brought about Garfield's drawn-out death by infection nearly three months after the assassination attempt.  This period was a painfully grim time for Garfield's family and for the nation.  Chester A Arthur, who had been chosen as Garfield's running mate mainly to appease a "boss" figure who wanted to control the Republican party, was initially overwhelmed to find himself in the White House, but surprised dissenters by embracing and carrying out reforms, especially in civil service, which Garfield had initiated.

The author covers a wide range of political thought, including mini-bios of politicians, as well as modern scientists like Alexander Graham Bell (whose expertise was called on to try to locate the bullet in Garfield's side) and Joseph Lister (whose pioneering work in the use of antiseptics could have saved Garfield's life, had Bliss heeded his advice).

February 19: President's Day

Washington's Crossing 
By David Hackett Fischer

Featuring the pivotal Battle of Trenton, the author paints vivid portraits of Washington and his chief British and Hessian counterparts.  Just months after declaring independence from Great Britain, American colonists have lost the Battle of New York, and barely escape across the river to New Jersey.  Yet, despite the discouragement over this loss, meager supplies and tattered uniforms, not to mention severe winter weather, Washington's army manages to pull off a surprise attack on Hessian soldiers celebrating Christmas at Trenton.  Washington then managed to hold off the British army under Cornwallis, and pull off another victory at Princeton, resulting in a resounding loss for the British, and a new sense of hope for the patriots.  Fischer provides ample detail on battle strategies and geographic settings.  Washington emerges as an amazing and inspiring leader, truly the right man for the job.

February 18

The Help
By Kathryn Stockett

Skeeter is a recent college graduate of Old Miss.   Her socially prominent mother wants Skeeter to find a husband, but Skeeter is more interested in becoming a journalist, and she sets out to write about the life of the black maids who work in all her friends' households and raise their white babies.  Even though the civil rights bill has just been passed, these women still live like slaves and greatly fear saying anything negative.   Aibileen, a friend's maid, reluctantly agrees to be interviewed by Skeeter, and eventually enlists a number of her friends for Skeeter's project, most notably her feisty friend Minny.  This story is a joy to read, as it is people with memorable characters and funny moments.  Poignant subplots include Skeeter's relationship with her mother, who develops a terminal illness, and Minny's efforts to help her shy employer please her husband.

February 17

Love in a Headscarf
By Shelina Janmohammed

A well-educated Asian Muslim woman living in London goes the traditional route to find a husband - that is, through matchmakers who preselect promising suitors to come (with their families) to her house to meet her family.  After years of efforts, however, she is about ready to give up; she is too well-educated, too short, wears the hijab or - more often - he is not the person of her dreams.  This book is well-written and funny; it provides a good window into a Muslim woman's courting and romance rituals.

Note: This book is available through Amazon, but not through RI public libraries.

February 16

The Aviator's Wife
By Melanie Benjamin

Anne Morrow was the well-bred but quiet daughter of an ambassador at the time she met Charles Lindbergh, who had just completed his solo flight over the Atlantic.  They had a brief courtship followed by a small wedding but were mobbed by fans and the press on their honeymoon, and everyday thereafter.  The Lindberghs were possibly the first superstars, and ultimately decided to live out of the country to avoid being hounded.

Anne learned to fly, too, and was the first woman licensed to fly a glider plane but got none of the praise her famous husband did.  Charles may have been a hero, but this historic novel, based on her diaries, makes him out to be a real bully and his poor wife really suffered.  He was gone for months at a time, paying little attention to her or their children, as if they were merely born to create his legacy.

Before they had children, the two seemed happy flying all over the place.  They provided some of the first ever aerial photos of many sites around the world.  Can you imagine circling Mayan ruins from above, taking photos, and then landing to camp among the ruins?  That's the stuff of dreams.

A good read for the adventure and history of aviation, but not for their family life.  Bless her heart, Anne had a tough time being the Aviator's Wife.  Just at the end of his life, she discovered Charles had children with several other women, insuring that his perfect genes would pass on to future generations.  Sounds like he was full of himself.

Thanks to Jean Warneke, my travel agent sister, for this guest book review!

February 15

A Radical Faith: The Assassination of Sister Maura
by Eileen Markey

Yesterday a troubled young man shot and killed at least 17 people, most of them students at a Florida high school.  How many students, churchgoers, and concert attendees will have to die before our country finally bans assault weapons?  I just sent messages to my US congressman and 2 state senators; I hope and pray our voices will be heard.

While the number of mass shootings in our country keeps escalating, shooting is nothing new.  Almost 40 years ago, three American nuns and a lay worker were martyred in a mass murder in El Salvador.  

Although this book could have used some more editing, A Radical Faith is a fascinating story of a young nun who is called to serve the needy populations of Nicaragua and El Salvador and who ends up making the ultimate sacrifice.  Maura is born just before World War 2 in Rockaway, Queens in an Irish Catholic neighborhood, taking her vows as a Maryknoll sister in 1955.  The two most interesting takeaways from this biography, for me, were:

1) the transformation of the religious life as a result of Vatican II.  Women like Maura expected a life of prayer and quiet but, in many cases, they ended up among the people rather than cloistered inside a convent.  "Was a religious life about commitment and interiority, a personal relationship with God, and a quest for holiness?  Or was it about the relationships between people and building the kingdom of God, the society of love and justice Jesus called for?" (p 151)

2) the uprisings in centralAmerica were by poor people victimized by cruel and selfish governments.  In both Nicaragua and El Salvador, rich officials took away the land of the poor, charged them exorbitant prices for water, and classified them as communists if they tried to work together to help one another.  When they were forced to resort to militant action, the governments sought US aid to squelch the "communist" rebels.  The US government complied with training, weapons, and money.  The treacherous governments killed, tortured, and raped these poor campesinos, who only wanted food and housing for their families, and it was US-trained soldiers who raped and killed Maura and her colleagues in 1980.

This thoughtful story is well-documented by letters, interviews, and news articles.

February 14: Valentine's Day

A Severe Mercy

By Sheldon Vanauken

In this memoir, Vanauken tells the tender love story of his wife Davy and himself, a couple so devoted to each other that they vow not to have children (who could potentially come between them), create a virtual shield (the "shining barrier") to protect their love, and initially avoid including others in their activities.  As Sheldon is from a wealthy family, they can enjoy dinners out, quite moments by the fireplace in his father's club and, when the father leaves him a lot of money, build a yacht to sail on for months at a time.  After college ean grad school, Sheldon and Davy head to Oxford to study for two years.  They come to realize that most of their friends are Christians - and they are very appealing people!  Eventually Davy, then a reluctant Sheldon, come to accept Jesus' teachings as true, and their lives are changed forever.  

C S Lewis, a respected professor of literature, is influential in Sheldon's decision, and many of Lewis's letters are included (Lewis himself marries, then loses his wife to cancer in the course of this story).  In Oxford, and later in the US where Sheldon accepts a teaching post at Lynchburg College, the Vanuakens' home becomes the center of a Christian fellowship, made up of an evolving group of students.  Davy develops a debilitating illness which would prove to be fatal, and Sheldon cares for her, eventually coming to a place of peace over this woman who had been the center of his life.

February 13

Trees in the Pavement
By Jennifer Grosser

This realistic story exposes the changes in the life of a Kosovo refugee family who have settled in England - not only in their language, education and making a living, but also when one member of this Muslim family becomes interested in a different faith.  Young Zari and her family have come to London from the fields and farms of war-torn Kosovo.  She is surprised to see that a tree can actually shoot up out of the pavement, which is a metaphor for the plight of refugees trying to find their own way in a strange new city.  As Zari comes of age in this new country, making new friends is not always easy, but she learns to have the courage of her convictions.

The author formerly lived in East London, where she met many refugee families.

This title may not be available in public libraries, but is for sale at Amazon and other online booksellers.

February 12: Lincoln's Birthday

To Kill a Mockingbird

By Harper Lee

This is such a well-known story, told from an 8-year-old child's perspective, of prejudice, racism, and small town politics and bigotry.  Eight-year-old Scout is the daughter of Atticus Finch, a widowed lawyer in 1930's Maycomb, Alabama.  A white woman accuses a black man of raping her, and Atticus is appointed to defend him.  It's not easy doing what's right in a small town where everyone knows everyone else, and segregation and prejudice are the order of the day.  While the church ladies collect funds to help the poor people in Africa, they don't want to socialize with the African-American next door, and the Finch family are appropriately ostracized for Atticus's defense of Tom Robinson.

This evening, I heard a talk by Dominique Gilliard, whose book, Rethinking Incarceration: Advocating for Justice that Restores, will officially be published by InterVarsity Press on March 2nd (look for a review in the future).   Gilliard brings to light historical problems following emancipation that led to mass incarceration, particularly of African Americans who, recently freed, lacked the skills and education to find employment.  I couldn't help but think of To Kill a Mockingbird, and how prejudice and injustice set the stage for Tom Robinson's accusation and trial.  Gilliard went on to discuss the church's role in perpetuating this trend, and cited many ways the church can help to reverse the trend.  (More details coming)

February 11

Our Endangered Values
By Jimmy Carter

An important book that addresses religious fundamentalism, relationships of church and state, and other contemporary issues.  Carter's experience as president, his Christian perspective, and his many diplomatic experiences post-presidency give the book its authority.  Carter comes down hard on the religious right (and this was written 10 years before the Trump presidency!) and their political agenda as well as their lack of tolerance.  He calls on America to be less selfish and for Christians to basically put their money where their mouth is by helping to end human rights abuses.

February 10

In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin
By Erik Larsen

Erik Larsen's books always reflect extensive research and this book is no exception.  This fascinating story centers around the American Ambassador to Germany from 1933-36, William Dodd, and his family.   Larsen goes into the backstory of how the American ambassador came to be appointed, the climate in Berlin prior to the early 1930s, etc.  Dodd is an intellectual rather than an "old boys' club" diplomat and he is not very successful, except in discerning the natural of Hitler's plans.  Alas, the US (and the rest of the world), did not heed Dodd's dire warnings, and Hitler was free to brutalize Europe - and we know the rest.   We are introduced to many important players like Himler and filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl.  Strangely, Dodd's daughter Martha took a great many lovers among the enemy ranks (both German and Russian) as well as French and American, and certainly showed no discernment nor interest in what was happening around her.  What a floozy!  Many of the major characters' homes, including that of the Dodds, are located around Berlin's Tiergarten, and this provides an atmospheric center to the story.

February 9

84, Charing Cross Road
By Helene Hanff

Shortly after the Second World War, Helene Hanff, a freelance writer in New York City, writes a letter of inquiry to Marks and Co., antiquarian booksellers located at 84, Charing Cross Road, London.  Thus begins a 20-year correspondence that combines humor, intelligence, and an appreciation of old books. Helene and Frank never meet, but she is still devastated when she learns in 1969 that Frank has died.  The book is told entirely in letters and its last entry is to a friend heading to London: "If you happen to pass 84 Charing Cross Road, kiss it for me?  I owe it so much."  Delightful!

February 8

My Beloved World

By Sonia Sotomayor

Justice Sotomayor grew up in the Bronx projects, the daughter of Puerto Rican immigrants, an alcoholic father who died when Sonia was only nine and a workaholic mother who struggled to give her children a private school education.  Both Sonia and her brother, a physician, certainly made the best of their opportunities, and Sonia is quick to acknowledge the many mentors and friends who helped her along the way, even acknowledging her own culpability when things when wrong, including in her marriage to a man she clearly loved and respected.  This is an upbeat, positive lady - and a good role model!

February 7

The Little Locksmith: A Memoir
By Katharine Butler Hathaway

Written in 1942, this beautiful autobiography is written by a woman handicapped by a deformed back that has stunted her growth. She spends many years strapped to a board in an unsuccessful effort to straighten her spine.  Instead of lamenting her woes, however, she looks out on the beauty of the relationships she enjoys with others, and resolves to own her own home and become a writer.   She achieves these goals, attending Radcliffe college and eventually buying a home in Castine, Maine.  Throughout the story Katharine refers to a kind of "magic" that provides the strength and inspiration she needs, and only in the epilogue does the reader learn the source of this magic that has guided every step.  A beautiful and unusual story.

Having vacationed in Castine over many years, this book caught my interest. The Little Locksmith is still in print and available in some public libraries, including the Barrington Public Library.  

February 6

Frankenstein
By Mary Shelley

Frankenstein, sometimes subtitled "Or The Modern Promotheus" was published 200 years ago this year, while mostly written "on a dark and stormy night" in 1816 when author Mary Shelley (age 17) was on holiday with her paramour Percy Shelley in Switzerland.

This classic is much more tragedy than horror story.  While the book is a story within a story narrated by a British explorer named Walton, the gist of the story surrounds the young doctor Victor Frankenstein.  Obsessed with origins of life, he attempts to create a living being from parts of cadavers in his laboratory.  Surprisingly, he is successful, but he is repelled by the "monster" he has created, and immediately rejects him.  The creature, however, has feelings and wants to be accepted.  He spends months in hiding in a cottage shed where he is able to observe a family relate to and speak with one another.  While they sleep he leaves them gifts of firewood and hopes they will accept him.  The first person he approaches is a blind, elderly man who responds to the creature's overtures, but when the man's family sees the creature, they immediately cast him out.  He continues to be rebuffed by society and eventually exacts revenge against the man who created him.

The prose is beautiful and the various editions of the book over the centuries attest to its ongoing popularity and message.  I discussed this title in two book groups, have seen various movie version and even a recent dramatized work.  The story never grows old.

February 5

The Bookseller of Kabul
By Asne Seierstad

This story is a really interesting look into the life of an Afghan family by a Norwegian journalist who actually lived in their home(s) in 2003.  Seierstad dons a burqua and moves fairly anonymously between men and women, joining them for trips to the bazaar, on a religious pilgrimage, etc. Life for women is awful, though not a whole lot better for men.

In an article that appeared in yesterday's Sunday New York Times, it turns out the book trade is one of the few niches of business that is thriving in Afghanistan today.  "It is an Afghan-owned andAfghan-led process," according to one of the publishers interviewed for this article.  See "Though Most Afghans Can't Read, Their Book Trade Is Booming".

February 4

All the Light We Cannot See
By Anthony Doerr

This story offers an unusual perspective on World War II, how it affects the lives of children, specifically a blind French girl and an orphaned German boy.  Marie-Laure lost her vision at age six, but she is a bright, eager learner who knows her neighborhood thanks to a tactile scale model created by her father.  Werner is a tech-savvy boy living in the coal district of Germany.  Eventually he is tapped by the Hitler youth movement to help create and operate surveillance on the French resistance.  After the German army occupies Paris, Marie-Laure's father disappears and she is taken in by a great uncle who lives in a seaside home in Ste-Malo.  The worlds of the two children converge through radio near the war's end when they are teenagers.  War is tragic - and the story of these two children and their families is no exception.

February 3

When the Brook Runs Dry: My Journey from Africa to America...and Back a Few Times

By Alice Chidzero

Alice Chidzero grew up in Rhodesia, coming of age just as the country had achieved independence from Great Britain and became the new nation of Zimbabwe.  During the war for independence, government soldiers fought rebels, and students like Alice were caught in the middle.  But there was hope, and Alice continued her education to become a teacher, met her husband and started a family.  Sadly, her beautiful, healthy 2-year-old daughter developed an illness that would end in her death, only one of many tragedies and disappointments Alice would face.  Alice and her husband would come to the US to further their education, but she ended up returning to Africa, to Zimbabwe a couple of times, and later to Sierra Leone.  But God is faithful and in this memoir Alice describes how he provided everything she needed.

This memoir was just published and is not yet available in any library, although it can be purchased from Amazon.  For more information, see Alice's website. 

February 2

Amalia's Tale: A Poor Peasant, an Ambitious Attorney, and a Fight for Justice

By David Kertzer

This is one of those little known chapters of social history that affected orphaned children ("espositos" or "deposited children", in Italian), wet nurses, and their families.  I read it several years ago, but it has stuck with me.

In late 19th centry Italy, many poor peasant women took in foundlings to nurse in return for a small monthly income.  One woman, Amalia, was concerned about the sickly appearance of a baby girl she took in; although she was assured by the orphanage that the child was healthy, Amalia contracted syphilis from the child, and sadly infected her own baby, who died, as well as her other children and her husband.  Unlike other wet nurses who were similarly infected, however, Amalia decided to seek justice and found a lawyer willing to take her case against the foundling hospital and its powerful elite managers.  This book details her ten-year ordeal, which led to better rights and protections for poor children and families.

February 1

Crossing the Bamboo Bridge

By Mai Donahue

Mai tells the story of her early years in a Vietnamese peasant family, struggling as a young teen bride in a forced marriage, barely making ends meet in Saigon, finding work as a nanny, maid, ice cream cart vendor, learning English, and eventually meeting her husband Brian, an American serviceman.  While we think of Vietnam mainly in terms of a war that America lost and more recently as a favorite tourist destination, Mai writes of real life trials in a rural, poor country.  Today, Mai is an active mom and grandmother, well-known in Barrington for her delicious cookery and outgoing, friendly heart.  It is incredible to read of her journey, her childhood struggles and the people who hurt her along the way, as well as those - especially a saintly second wife of a wealthy Vietnamese man - who helped her find confidence and a new faith.

Mai's website contains updates on her adventures, as well as some of her yummy recipes!