The Best We Could Do: An Illustrated Memoir

The Best We Could Do: An Illustrated Memoir

Thi Bui

#2400 of 3,809 books · #870 in Biography & Memoir

Shortlisted for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Autobiography (2017).

The Best We Could Do was a 2017 National bestseller, a National Book Critics Circle finalist, and an ALA 2018 Notable Books selection. An intimate and poignant graphic novel portraying one family's journey from war-torn Vietnam, from debut author Thi Bui. This beautifully illustrated and emotional story is an evocative memoir about the search for a better future and a longing for the past. 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. At 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. Despite how impossible it seems to take on the simultaneous roles of both parent and child, Bui pushes through. With haunting, poetic writing and breathtaking art, she examines the strength of family, the importance of identity, and the meaning of home.