"It was the intermingling of the generations that brought me undone, and I had to ask the question.
“What kept you going, Ma?”
“They kept killing my family.”"
 |
Journey Among Heroes by Bob Greer Trafford Publishiin
book review by Corinna Underwood
"Heroic Mother" is an honorary title bestowed upon more than 44,000 Vietnamese women whose children were martyrs in the thirty-year Vietnam War. Inspired by photographs of these women in a Hanoi military museum, Greer began a once-in-a lifetime journey to meet with some of them and recount their experiences. Accompanied by a translator, Greer travels through rural Vietnam via bus, motor cycle and boat, often encountering obstacles from the government. Despite this, he maintains a steadfast determination, instinctive curiosity, and a passion to learn about the Vietnamese culture and how it has survived years of bloodshed and anguish. The result is a poignant, retrospective account of an era of tremendous violence, told through the words of eleven of the incredible women who lived through it. Readers will meet mothers like Nguyen Thi Huong, renowned throughout her village for her gourmet fish sauce, a survivor who lost her husband, son and daughter during the war and Dinh Thi Que, who suffered beatings and torture at the hands of the Japanese and then the painful loss of three sons and a daughter during the war.
The scope of the loss and suffering presented in the book is unfathomable and highlights the incredible bravery of these women who supported the revolution, often taking action themselves. In a world where beatings, torture and murder was common place, these amazing women stood their ground against all odds and survived to share their stories of a fight to save their families and their country. Every chapter adds vibrant color to the Vietnamese landscape and its culture and inspires a deepening sense of awe for its people. Greer gives insight into the lives of eleven Hero Mothers, forced to live with the traumatic loss of their family members, bringing together the country's battle-torn history and the remarkable strength and determination of its people.