Status Updates From The Happiest Refugee: A Memoir

Anh Do's entire family came close to losing their lives on the sea as they escaped from war-torn Vietnam in an overcrowded boat. His mum, dad and brother came across pirates twice, people overboard and rough sea. Anh looked up to his father a lot and helped him get through his life. Anh was very grateful for all the opportunities that the Australian government gave him, and now he is a world class comedian.

Endearing and well written so far

This book is an emotional roller coaster as throughout it Anh explains all of his struggles feelings while lots of things are going on in his life. It also shows that he is a strong person and that anyone can do something that they dream if if they believe and work hard to for-fill it

Okay I'm beginning to understand the praise and hype surrounding this book now but I still feel uneasy about it

#genrethon book 2 - autobiography I'm not really getting along with this to be honest and it might be a little too early to judge but I have a feeling I'm not going to enjoy this as much as everyone else seems to :/

Very emotional and a real life lesson it shows us the difficulties one could go through in life ❤️❤️

Charming thought-provoking and suffused with gratitude. I struggled to put it down.

urghhhhh I hate forcing my self to read books like this . stupid English class

About halfway through this book and loving it!!

I don't think I'm ever gonna finish this book.

So behind!

"Mum was consumed by the fear that Suzie's parents would think me and my family would not be rich enough to take care of their daughter in the manner they expected. She was becoming obsessed with the pig [traditionally provided by the groom's family for the engagement party] and she wasn't the only one. As men often do, I had forgotten to tell Suzie's family ... that we would be bringing a metre-long pig with us."

"I played basketball for a while at school. The best way to describe my teammates was by their shoes: three Reebok Pumps, four Air Jordans, and a Nike Max Lite. My shoes were called 'Kind Lion' -- someone at the Chinese factory must have stuffed up the translation."

"I couldn't believe what Mum was offering. Financially we were struggling, desperately struggling, and she'd just offered a young woman and her five-year-old daughter a place to stay ... Somehow, though, it didn't seem like we had to do with less at all. It felt like exactly the opposite. Having this woman stay with us made us feel very well off. This is why my mum is a genius."

"But my father treated that loss as if it were a win, and it was a lesson that stayed with me for a long time. If the worst happens, if you lose and fail, but still celebrate coming second because you've given it a red hot go. There is no need to fear failure."

"My parents and their siblings worked and worked and worked. I look back now and the hours they did were absolutely ludicrous. But for a group of refugees who came from a communist regime where you had almost no means of making a living, they were in paradise. They were incredibly grateful they had the opportunity to be rewarded for their efforts, and worked accordingly. What a great country!"

"Mum and Dad were always talking about [then-PM Bob Hawke], grateful that he was personally allowing us to stay in his country. Every now and then we would say prayers, and after praying to God and Jesus and Mary we would offer thanks to Bob Hawke. I didn't even know what the word 'primeminister' meant, but I liked this guy whose job it was to allow people to live in his country and make them so happy."

"American helicopters flew overhead and dropped bags of food ... including lots of tins of corned beef - a practical and long-lasting food. For the first few weeks, our family indulged on this canned meat and, to this day, it is my mum's favourite food. Every second Christmas she still rolls it out and I curse those choppers for not dropping something tastier."

"Many large Vietnamese families have so many kids that they give them a nickname which is simply the order they were born. My dad was the fourth born. His name is Tam, but his brothers simply call him 'Four'. It was a system that evolved in poor villages where large families were common, and it just made things easier."

Really enjoying this so far.

Wow. Anh Do has really been on a lot of shows / gigs in his life time.

Had to read it for english.. Very interesting so far

this is interesting whilst being boring at the same time

Read it!

Loving this

Loving this

I skipped to the photos, and it was like looking at my own family photo album!

Ugh I hate Lara Jean's character so much She has been such an annoying and frustrating character to read from since Margot left

Bawling my eyes out.

At book group we decided we needed to read something less depressing and someone suggested 'The Happiest Refugee'. I'm on page 9 and seriously doubting they remembered what was in the book when they suggested it!