Joan's picks: Dust Child and Second Chances

Dust Child by Nguyen Phan Que Mai. This is a very different perspective on the Vietnam War, focusing on the Amerasian children who were abandoned by their GI fathers when they returned to the US; and on the shame and regret felt by many of those men for their actions. Focuses on one veteran who returns to Vietnam with his wife after 40 years, looking for the woman he treated badly and left behind, and the child they made together. It’s a very human piece of history and I thought it was great. The author is coming to the Auckland Writer's Festival in May. 

Second Chances by Hayley Holt. I imagine Hayley's story is pretty well-known. She was a young dancer, she took up snowboarding, she was on Dancing with the Stars, she had her television career, she was a public persona, very much identified as one of our local celebrities. What we might not know about is her struggle with addiction to alcohol, which she eventually managed to overcome. She found love, she struggled with two miscarriages, but she has since given birth to a health baby. This book is an honest, intimate look at what happened during all those years, how she coped with it and how she came out the other side. It's a moving and impressive book, she lays so much out on the table and doesn't flinch through it all.

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