Red Sky in the Morning

by Elizabeth Buhmann, JU Salvant (Illustrator), Lily Blackard (Contributor)

A Young Woman's Flight from War and Regime-Change Xa Lili was just six years old when full-blown combat erupted in war-weary Vietnam. A century of colonial rule, followed by a bitter struggle for independence, had left the country divided, a focal point in the global conflict between Communist and Free World ideologies. When the US withdrew and Vietnam was reunified under Hanoi, Lili was swept up in an unprecedented swell of humanity fleeing a landscape devastated by war. Her story, spanning the years of her childhood to young adulthood, represents the heritage of more than a million Asian-Americans living in the United States today. This small volume, beautifully illustrated with original watercolor paintings, is based on Lily Blackard's recollections of her journey to America as a Vietnam War refugee.

116 pages, Paperback

Published November 22, 2016

About the author

Elizabeth Buhmann is originally from Virginia, where her first novel is set, and like her main character, she lived several years abroad while growing up. She graduated magna cum laude from Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, and has a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Pittsburgh. For twenty years, she worked for the Texas Attorney General as a researcher and writer on criminal justice and crime victim issues.

Elizabeth now lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband, dog, and two chickens. She is an avid gardener, loves murder mysteries, and has a black sash in Tai Chi.

Reviews

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a well-written, informative, and engaging narrative about how the Vietnam War affected real Vietnamese and Chinese people. I've always had a superficial knowledge of the Vietnam War and always from an American perspective. Reading about Lili's experience growing up in Saigon during the conflict deepened my understanding of history. The accompanying illustrations are gorgeous even on my Kindle so I can only imagine how beautiful they must look in the print edition. It's a compelling story. I highly recommend anything Elizabeth Buhmann writes -- she's a gorgeous storyteller.