Category Archives: musings

I was not ready for this kind of grief.

Posted on April 9, 2021 by The soup lady

**This essay was originally published online at WBUR Cognoscenti on April 8, 2021. I wasn’t ready for this moment. More than two weeks after the shooting in Atlanta, I am still reeling and at a loss for what to do about … Continue reading →

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Pandemic fog and a call to action

Posted on September 3, 2020 by The soup lady

I have been struggling lately on several fronts.  Sometime mid-summer, a malaise seems to have settled over my mind, making it difficult to see the forest for the trees.  Covid-19, racial reckoning, protests, Lysol wipes, face masks, Amazon food orders, … Continue reading →

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Remembering my father

Posted on July 20, 2019 by The soup lady

  My father died one year ago and I’ve struggled to write about it.  I hear that grief is different for each person; different for each loss. But when the grief is your own and it holds no shape, how … Continue reading →

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Echoes

Posted on February 7, 2019 by The soup lady

Recently, I noticed something peculiar: I heard my voice echoed in the writing of other women. I heard my personal journey, something that I had learned to hold as sacred and singular, in the stories of other Vietnamese American women … Continue reading →

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Vietnam 2018

Posted on May 12, 2018 by The soup lady

No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man. – Heraclitus Vietnam used to feel so far away from my life in the US. Not only is it … Continue reading →

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Becoming an American

Posted on January 28, 2017 by The soup lady

In light of the recent Executive Order curtailing immigration and refugee resettlement, I am sharing my own story of becoming an American citizen. Coincidentally, it’s been almost exactly 20 years. In 1996 I was a junior at Brown, working towards a … Continue reading →

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Parental struggles

Posted on January 15, 2017 by The soup lady

UPDATE: Thank you to everyone who has chimed in from near and far with words of wisdom and encouragement. As always, I am amazed by the strength of my community and the support that you all provide.   It’s been a … Continue reading →

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Conversations worth having

Posted on October 21, 2016 by The soup lady

A few weeks ago an old college friend, the mother of two young children, reached out to me via Facebook.  She asked me for general parenting advice.  What she got in return was likely more than she bargained for! I … Continue reading →

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A story to tell

Posted on November 30, 2015 by The soup lady

I wrote this piece in 2013 but haven’t found the right time to share it until now. For months, the refugee crisis in Europe has been worsening; the EU’s response has been divided and inadequate in the face of massive … Continue reading →

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Losing the elephant

Posted on July 13, 2015 by The soup lady

It took me nearly six months to plan our trip to Vietnam.  Airfare, lodging, transportation, tours, visas, itinerary–it all took a while to come together.  Add to that all the complications of traveling with a large group that included 4 … Continue reading →

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