A review by ester30
The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui

4.0

Beautiful, raw, and enchanting. As someone interested in generational trauma, this was amazing! The back-and-forth method of story-telling was kind of confusing, but I liked that it was a bit messy-it kind of mimicked life in that way. The ending where she believes her son will be trauma-free was interesting, because it shows the optimism that each parent has for their child, the unrealistic hope that their own exorcised demons won't affect their children. Just as her parents probably thought that she was not going to not suffer as much as them, she too believes her trauma is behind her. Overall, this memoir gave me lots to think about, and I definitely will be revisiting!
EJF