I received this lovely email from Truc and I thought I would share it with you.

Little Paradise is a young adult novel which is very close to my heart. It is about my mother and the passion she had. It is a story of love, of war and creativity, of finding your own little paradise no matter where you are or what difficulties you face.

Dear Ms.Wang,
Hello, I am from Viet Nam but currently studying in Melbourne, Australia. My class (the English Language Centre at Kew High School) and I have been reading your book ‘Little Paradise’ for a while and its had touched our hearts through many different ways. I really enjoyed reading your book. Your mom was a courageous woman who overcame everything for her endless love. This story was perfectly suited to students my age because we all have the same  way of thinking as a teenager. Overall, I just want to say thank you for sharing this significant story of your mom and thank you for taking your time reading my letter.
Your sincerely,
Truc

Here is a beautiful photograph of my mum taken when she was eighteen years old. I love its soft dreamy quality, the expression on my mother’s face- her mouth is turned up at the corners but her eyes look sad.