Of Monkey Bridges and Bánh Mì Sandwiches: from Sài Gòn to Texas

I am not a “book recommender” in my practice, I have a core of books I suggest if clients ask – three of them are CBT or DBT workbooks, the other is Night by Elie Wiesel (yes many folks have still not read that book).

I recommend “Night” because it is a powerful demonstration of “Meaning” within DBT’s IMPROVE skill and a source for “Comparison” in ACCEPTS. Well, another book made the list for the same reasons – “Of Monkey Bridges and Bánh Mì Sandwiches: from Sài Gòn to Texas” by Oanh Ngo Usadi.

The book is a personal account of the author as a young girl growing up in Vietnam during and after the war, as a refugee and then as an immigrant to the US. The story is authentic, powerful, sad and beautiful.  It’s a very easy read – the writing style feels conversational to me. You can purchase the book on Amazon and I suggest you give it a shot.

You can also learn more about the book and author in this VOA interview.