My Vietnam Your Vietnam

My Vietnam Your Vietnam chronicles the divergent journeys of a father, who fled post-war Vietnam on a small boat to find refuge in the United States, and his American-born daughter, who ventures to Vietnam as an adult, capturing the stark contrast between their perspectives as they strive to heal the long-term wounds of war.

Join us for a book talk by author and UNC alum, Christina Vo.

In this dual memoir, Christina Vo and her father, Nghia M. Vo, delve into themes of identity and heritage, with intertwined stories that present a multifaceted portrayal of Vietnam and its profound influence on shaping both familial bonds and individual identities across time.

Nghia left Vietnam in April 1975 with only the clothes on his back, following the US withdrawal of troops and the fall of Saigon. After a harrowing two month journey, he found himself in a refugee camp outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania where he began the painful process of reconnecting with his family and rebuilding his life as a medical doctor. He never spoke about Vietnam with his daughter, Christina, who grew up in the US, As a restless young adult, she felt a longing to discover her heritage and soon moved to Hanoi, to experience a Vietnam that had changed dramatically since the war, yet retained some of the ancient traits she experienced in her own father.

Captivating in its fluid movement and evocative depictions of place, My Vietnam Your Vietnam offers readers a rich, multilayered exploration of Vietnam through two very distinct voices and perspectives. The memoir aims to deepen readers’ understanding and appreciation of Vietnam and its culture by showcasing these two contrasting viewpoints.

Christina Vo is a Santa Fe-based author whose work delves into themes such as loss, intergenerational trauma, healing, identity, and the notions of home and reconciliation. Her second book, My Vietnam, Your Vietnam, is an intergenerational memoir co-written with her father. Christina is also the author of The Veil Between Two Worlds: A Memoir of Silence, Loss, and Finding Home. With a background in international work, Christina has experience at UNICEF, the World Economic Forum, and various nonprofits. She currently works at Stanford University and holds an MSc from the London School of Economics.

This event is part of the 50 Years Later: The American War in Vietnam series.

Before or after the event, you are encouraged to explore the exhibit Southeast Crossings: Refugees of the Vietnam War, which is located on the walls of the Pleasants Room—Violence from the American War in Vietnam and its associated conflicts in Cambodia and Laos unfurled into the 1990s. Curated entirely from archival material in the Wilson Special Collections, Southeast Crossings uses photos to explore one prolonged consequence of the war–mass migration that changed the lives of those who fled as well as the landscape of their resettlement. Three exhibit sections highlight different aspects of this migration: lives in transit, refugee reception in the US Southeast, and refugee lives in North Carolina.