The Best We Could Do is a debut graphic memoir that details the author and her family’s life as Vietnamese “boat people” who fled Vietnam after U.S. It is a powerful look at one woman’s life and a war fought decades ago, but her story and the book’s message resonate remarkably today. The Best We Could Do brings to life, with words and images, Bui’s journey of understanding and provides inspiration to all those who search for a better future while longing for a simpler past. With haunting, poetic writing and breathtaking art, she examines the strength of family, the importance of identity, and the meaning of home. Despite how impossible it seems to take on the simultaneous roles of both parent and child, Bui pushes through. Exploring the anguish of immigration and the lasting effects that displacement has on a child and her family, Bui documents the story of her family’s daring escape after the fall of South Vietnam in the 1970s, and the difficulties they faced building new lives for themselves.Īt the heart of Bui’s story is a universal struggle: While adjusting to life as a first-time mother, she ultimately discovers what it means to be a parent-the endless sacrifices, the unnoticed gestures, and the depths of unspoken love.

This beautifully illustrated and emotional story is an evocative memoir about the search for a better future and a longing for the past. An intimate and poignant debut graphic novel portraying one family’s journey from war-torn Vietnam, from Thi Bui.

The best we could do pages