Jason Rainey has finished his series of comics about the life and work of Lucy Nguyen Hong Nhiem. “Dragon Child Returns” tells of her first visit back to Viet Nam.
Lucy provided Jason with photos and spoke to us about her trip. He shows Lucy’s visit to her brother, a priest who has returned to work with a national minority.
Jason worked from Lucy’s memoir, Dragon Child, for the previous three strips. The first one gives overview of childhood in Viet Nam, emigration, and teaching in Massachusetts.
Lucy began teaching at 14 to pay tuition after Communists destroyed her father’s farm. After emigration in 1975 she played an essential role in educating young immigrants to high standards for their own ambitions.
The second, “Lessons from the Garden” is about Lucy’s parents. It retells an old story Lucy heard from her mother and an example her father set.
The old story is about twin brothers in love with one woman. Her father’s example was to bang his head on a wall.
“An Unexpected Clash” shows Lucy’s work with novelist Pham Van Ky. His themes make an eloquent commentary on Lucy’s life.
Pham Van Ky wrote of the individual and the collective, contrasting France and Viet Nam. Lucy’s own life is a parable about gaining individual power to serve others.
For the print version of “A Dragon Child Returns” in our postal newsletter make a donation now in any amount. VNLP is preparing a bound version containing all four comics like the one we did for Nhat Linh.
I have loved the Lucy Nguyen series in archived VNLP Newsletters. What a nice circle Dragon Child Returns makes!
I can’t wait for the book!