S3 E4 The Saigon Sisters: Privileged Women in the Resistance with Patricia D. Norland

Xin chào and hello! Welcome to Season 3 of Thip Khao Talk Podcast. Legacies of War Advocacy Ambassador, Jenny Nguyen, sits down with author Patricia "Kit" D. Norland!The Saigon Sisters offers the narratives of a group of privileged women who were immersed in a French lycée and later rebelled and fought for independence, starting with France's occupation of Vietnam and continuing through US involvement and life after war ends in 1975.Tracing the lives of nine women, The Saigon Sisters reveals these women's stories as they forsook safety and comfort to struggle for independence, and describes how they adapted to life in the jungle, whether facing bombing raids, malaria, deadly snakes, or other trials. How did they juggle double lives working for the resistance in Saigon? How could they endure having to rely on family members to raise their own children? Why, after being sent to study abroad by anxious parents, did several women choose to return to serve their country? How could they bear open-ended separation from their husbands? How did they cope with sending their children to villages to escape the bombings of Hanoi? In spite of the maelstrom of war, how did they forge careers? And how, in spite of dislocation and distrust following the end of the war in 1975, did these women find each other and rekindle their friendships? Patricia D. Norland answers these questions and more in this powerful and personal approach to history.Purchase the book: https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501749735/the-saigon-sisters/Learn more about Legacies of War: www.legaciesofwar.orgTheme song by Lao Jazzanova BandThank you to our sponsors Akin Gump and ARTICLE22 and Legacies of War's Lam Vong Circle Members for investing in the preservation of this history.