Ask the Author: Phuc Tran
Answered Questions (12)
Phuc Tran
Hi, Dawna: The books are not listed in an appendix in the physical copy, but they are all listed (as chapter titles) in the table of contents in the front of the book. Hope that helps! Cheers, Phuc
Phuc Tran
Hi, Kate! I get asked the same ten(ish) questions most of the time, and that's okay. I get it. I've been talking to readers about one thing, but readers, this is the only time that they've talked to me. When that happens, there's an understandable gap in our experiences. This is my long and sneaky way of saying that I don't want to put folks' questions in the "tired of answering" category because I don't want to tamp down someone's curiosity (though I think they would find most of answers to those commonly asked questions with a youtube or google search). I do love answering bigger, cultural, or pop cultural questions as well as questions about identity, belonging, race, politics, etc. You know, the easy stuff. Thanks for YOUR question! Cheers, Phuc
Phuc Tran
Hi, Mary: Thanks for reading the book! Here's a documentary (in three parts) that was produced by PA Public Television in 1975 all about the Viet refugee resettlement at Fort Indiantown Gap called "Closing the Gap." I think it will answer many of your questions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUZwX...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUZwX...
Phuc Tran
Hi, Yogesh: Thanks so much for reading my book and for sharing your story. It sounds like *YOU* definitely have a story to tell. I hope you'll tell it someday. All best wishes, Phuc
Phuc Tran
Hi, Rae: Thanks so much for the lovely note and for reading my book. You do have the words to do so, and look at that: you used them to let me know. Rock on. Phuc
Phuc Tran
Hi, Jessica: I'd be happy to visit via zoom. (I'd love to visit Portland in person, too, but I can't imagine that your department or school would really want to throw away good money like that. Please email me at phucskywalker@gmail.com and we can see if our schedules would line up. Cheers! Phuc
Phuc Tran
Hi, Molly: Yes, you were very close. Depending on whether his family was from the north or the south, it would be pronounced Dzoo (northern dialect) or Yoo (southern dialect). My father is a southerner, so the letter D is pronounced as a Y. Thanks for reading the book!
Phuc Tran
Thanks, Elisa! I'm so delighted that you read the book and found points of connection!
Phuc Tran
Hi, Audrey! Gotta love nuoc mam in everything (so good in scrambled eggs), hahaha.... My father did finally get around to reading it. I don't think that my mother has read it (it's a challenging book for her level of literacy, I think). We haven't really talked about the book. I did ask my father what he thought of the book (via text), and he said that it was very painful to read (which makes sense to me). That's about the extent of our conversations about the book.
Phuc Tran
I have not! It's on my list—I tried for about ten years to convince my parents to go back, but they refuse (old grudges go down hard). My brother went there with his wife, and I was going to go with my wife, but then our kids came along so now we're waiting until they're old enough to enjoy the trip with us so we can all go as a family. My parents are happy never to go back.
Phuc Tran
Haha, duly noted—winky face. I'm not sure my college years and beyond have the narrative tensions that my teenage and early life had. Any grief that I experienced was mostly self-inflicted (stepping on the landmines of my own stupidity). There are some ridiculous stories, to be sure, but I'm not sure it's so exciting/revelatory that it would warrant a second memoir (per se). My parents were indifferent about Latin teaching (they appreciated that I was a teacher—VERY RESPECTABLE) and cried when they found out I had tattoos and was a tattooer (my mom sobbed and asked me if I was also gay...) ummm... what?! My brother is doing great—he was a mechanical engineer for a while and then got bored and went to law school. He made up for me by being an engineer AND a lawyer—clearly, the successful Tran in our family, haha.
Phuc Tran
SO MANY. Probably too many. Tattooing, music, grammar, motorcycles, parenting, marriage, therapy, Star Wars, relationships, movies.... I'm not sure that a memoir part 2 (aka the college or work years) is all that exciting. But maybe there's wisdom or a perspective in there that seems banal to me but interesting to everyone else—it's so inherent to who I am that I may have to unpack what I know and have learned about teaching and tattooing to see if it's really as common and mundane as it seems to me.
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more