Viet Nam News
HA NOI — Vietnamese bestselling female writer Phan Viet has released the third volume in her successful nonfiction series titled Bat Hanh La Mot Tai San (Unhappiness is a Fortune).
Following the success of the two previous volumes -- Mot Minh O Chau Au (Alone in Europe, 2013) and Xuyen My (Journey Through America, 2014) -- the third installment, Ve Nha (Coming Home), continues to lead readers into the writer’s world of inner feelings as she continues her journey of rediscovering herself.
The writer describes her anxiety, eagerness, as well as her loneliness, in the first volume of the series, and then her great struggle to overcome many of life’s challenges in Xuyen My. In Ve Nha, Viet portrays a tireless character seeking reasons for both happiness and misfortune. The book is similar to an autobiography of a person who wishes to revisit her wounded soul to peacefully move forward after experiencing a lot of unhappiness.
“The series, to me, is the journey of rediscovering myself,” Phan Viet writes in her new book.
“The narrative is written in such a manner so that the reader is immersed in the details of the story rather than reading it as a review of something that has happened previously – no matter how crazy, sorrowful or silly the details. To me, it is the greatest dedication of an autobiography writer to the readers.”
“I just hope it (the series) will help some readers get more information and be braver during their own journey.”
Viet’s other works include Phu Phiem Truyen (The Book of Vanity, 2005), Nuoc My, Nuoc My (America, America, 2009) and novel Tieng Nguoi (Voices, 2008).
Viet received her BA in economics from Foreign Trade University in 2000, a master’s degree in communication from the United States’ University of Nebraska at Omaha in 2002 and another master’s degree and a PhD in social work from University of Chicago in 2010.
She is currently an assistant professor of social work at the University of South Carolina (US).
She also writes regularly for national newspapers and magazines, edits books and organises translation projects. With Fields Medalist Ngo Bao Chau and Tre Publishing House, she co-founded translation project "An Open Door," which translates often thought-provoking books into Vietnamese. — VNS