Heaven and Earth - Softcover

Wurts, Jay; Ly Hayslip, Le

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0330322796 ISBN 13: 9780330322799

Publisher: Pan, 1994

Synopsis

"When Heaven and Earth Changed Places" is the haunting memoir of the Vietnam war as seen through the eyes of a child who survived the horror. With the voice of a natural story-teller, Le Ly Hayslip tells the story of a young peasant girl's struggle to survive. Pressed into service by the Viet Cong, Hayslip was captured and tortured by government forces; then she was raped and almost murdered by her "comrades" in the VC. Later she lived with and loved several GIs. Finally, she married a kind-hearted American to escape the terror and insanity of the war. Once she arrived in the US in 1970, Hayslip lived the American dream to the hilt: she studied at night, worked during the day in an electronics factory and eventually became the owner of three houses and a restaurant near San Diego. Twice widowed and now unmarried, she has raised three sons. Meanwhile happiness proved elusive, the traumas of the war years lingering on in nightmare memories. In 1986 Le Ly went back to her homeland and was shocked to see the country and the people still profoundly scarred by the war. She subsequently sold the bulk of her property to start a foundation dedicated to building health clinics jointly staffed by Americans and Vietnamese.

About this title

Review

"One of the most important books of Vietnamese American and Vietnam War literature. . . . Moving, powerful." --Viet Thanh Nguyen, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Sympathizer

"Should not be missed by anyone. . . . No one who reads it will ever be able to think about the Vietnam War in quite the same way again." --The Washington Post

"A wonderful, wondrous book by a remarkable woman." --Amy Tan, author of The Valley of Amazement

"Touching and illuminating . . . A searing and human account." --The New York Times Book Review

"Riveting and historic. . . . Engrossing and beautifully told. . . . Impossible to put down."--San Francisco Chronicle

About the Author

Phung Le Ly Hayslip was born in Vietnam in 1950. She is the author of two memoirs--When Heaven and Earth Changed Places and Child of War, Woman of Peace--which were adapted into the film Heaven and Earth by Oliver Stone. Since 1986, she has helped rebuild her motherland through the two charitable organizations she established. Her efforts now focus exclusively on supporting the orphanages she founded in Vietnam.

Jay Wurts, an Air Guard pilot during the Vietnam War, has written and edited a variety of books.

www.lelyhayslip.wix.com/gratitude
www.jaywurts.com

Edition details

• Publisher: Pan
• Publication date: 1994
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0330322796
• ISBN 13: 9780330322799
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 496