A portrait of things left unsaid.

Nguyen puts these experiences into writing, a healing recognition occurs, most movingly through her children, who are able to see and validate things she cannot..

Nguyen is a confident and reliable protagonist even when running up against painful memories, providing readers with enough distance as to almost be objective.

...a quietly affecting memoir about family connection and disconnection. From the haunting opening line, the memoir is tinged with yearning and sorrow: 'Over the course of my life I have known less than twenty-four hours with my mother'.

Powerful, searching.

The author shares her difficulties in fitting into the white world as she searches for her roots. Beautifully written and painfully honest, Nguyen’s memoir reveals the struggles and prejudices refugees face and the importance of knowing your life story..

Owner of a Lonely Heart is not a chronological memoir. It circulates among memories, embellishing and deepening the reader’s and Nguyen’s understanding of them.

Nguyen candidly discusses the fear and hardship that refugees face.

A quietly moving memoir.

Ruminative.