The Big Read Book Club: "The Best We Could Do" (Virtual Session)

Join us for our new Big Read Book Club! Each month, we'll read one of the 12 novels & memoirs the National Endowment for the Arts features as its annual "Big Read" selections. We will meet at 10 am every fourth Saturday to discuss the book; patrons have the option of attending virtually or in person. Coffee and refreshments will be served!

The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui is an evocative memoir about the search for a better future and a longing for the past. Exploring the anguish of immigration and the lasting effects that displacement has on a child and her family, Bui documents the story of her family’s daring escape after the fall of South Vietnam in the 1970s, and the difficulties they faced building new lives for themselves.
 
At the heart of Bui’s story is a universal struggle: While adjusting to life as a first-time mother, she ultimately discovers what it means to be a parent—the endless sacrifices, the unnoticed gestures, and the depths of unspoken love. Despite how impossible it seems to take on the simultaneous roles of both parent and child, Bui pushes through. With haunting, poetic writing and breathtaking art, she examines the strength of family, the importance of identity, and the meaning of home.

Copies of the book will be available at the library's Circulation Desk. Please sign up below to participate in this month's discussion!