Through Isaac's Eyes; Crossing of Cultures, Coming of Age, and the Bond Between Father and Son

by Daniel Barth Peters

The memories remain, sharp as shrapnel fragments - the familiar and the foreign, side by side, Rocky Road ice cream and golden Buddhas. The baptismal at the Cedar Avenue Baptist Church and the color and smell of the Saigon River. Baseball and the pop-pop of sniper fire.
Through it all, a missionary father's faith shines, etched forever in the mind of his thirteen-year-old son in the midst of the horrors of Vietnam.
Through Isaac's Eyes is a powerful portrait of crossing cultures, father-son love, and faith that endures through the unthinkable. In it, Daniel Barth Peters relives his early teenage days in Saigon with his The friendships that transcended cultural differences. The realities of war and of life as seen through youthful eyes. Memories of a California childhood, set against a backdrop of strange customs, strange gods, loneliness, and death.
And the towering figure of a father whose life would become a lasting testimony to his son of the kind of faith that is willing to sacrifice everything precious for the sake of the Gospel.

185 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1996

Reviews

[Brian Virtue · Rating 4 out of 5]

So many questions. Beautifully written, though so much felt unresolved - felt like there were missing chapters to help digest the impact over time. A lot was left unsaid, or said indirectly, which was maybe the point but I wanted to know more. This is a story of MK trauma. It's not a long-term MK situation, it's 6-7 months. But it was in the middle of the Vietnam War! There are some wild accounts of danger and heartbreaking, traumatic events in the war. I could relate to the father in some ways, in other ways I could not understand some of the whys to taking family into an active war region in the manner that he did. The book is a memoir of trauma and and the dynamics of a father-son in that journey. I think it surfaces important questions. Everyone says that kids are resilient. Research and this book prove that in some of the important ways, this is not as true as we think nor should we see that as a poor reflection on MKs or TCKs. Kids can be sacrificed to the dreams and callings of their parents, and that can happen in your home country and hometown just as anywhere else. It doesn't mean that big dreams aren't worthy of pursuing, even with family, but this book is a reminder that we need to check our impulses, hunger for meaning and impact, and other drives that would lead us to chase those things in ways that damage young ones. Suffering will happen, that is life. But pain and suffering from doing hard things is different than trauma gained from being sacrificed. Where this account falls - I'm not so sure, nor do I know where the author ended up in the aftermath of sorting all of this out. I did deeply appreciate the chance to see such an experience through the eyes of a child (as captured by the adult reflecting later). I took my kids to SE Asia too (though in not so dangerous of a time) and the school where my kids went even was referenced in this book a couple of times. It has led to some good conversations with them - what we did well, what we didn't, and the difference between struggle and trauma. I was left with a lot of compassion for the author, but thankful for his giving voice to his journey.