"How could I love and respect Vicky Nguyen even more? I read her book. Vicky's life story reads like a thriller-and a love story-and a how-to on finding your voice. I am in awe!” — Hoda Kotb, NBC TODAY show anchor
“A love letter to all immigrant families. Vicky’s storytelling reels you in and leaves an unforgettable imprint. She honors her family, illustrates the power of grit and inspires us to keep our faith, especially in the face of adversity. A must read!”— Olivia Munn
"This moving story of dogged hard work, courage, and resilience will renew your appreciation for the American dream that Vicky so beautifully personifies." — Savannah Guthrie, NBC TODAY show anchor
"Uniquely personal and universally inspiring. Equal parts funny, inspiring, and authentic. Vicky's memoir informs, uplifts and reminds us all that America is a place where anything can happen.” — Andrew Yang
"A profoundly moving narrative that encapsulates the essence of resilience, hope, and the unyielding spirit of family. I found a personal connection to the story. A testament to the power of love and the enduring human spirit, Vicky has created a masterpiece that will resonate with readers for generations." — Lisa Sun, bestselling author of Gravitas: The 8 Strengths That Redefine Confidence
“Nguyen navigated life with spunk, optimism, and the fighting spirit she inherited from her parents. Her funny, candid, heartfelt book is a reminder that, even as we carry our pasts with us, we should keep our sights on where we want to go." — The Real Simple
"How could I love and respect Vicky Nguyen even more? I read her book. Vicky's life story reads like a thriller-and a love story-and a how-to on finding your voice. I am in awe!” — Hoda Kotb, NBC TODAY show anchor
“A love letter to all immigrant families. Vicky’s storytelling reels you in and leaves an unforgettable imprint. She honors her family, illustrates the power of grit and inspires us to keep our faith, especially in the face of adversity. A must read!”— Olivia Munn
"This moving story of dogged hard work, courage, and resilience will renew your appreciation for the American dream that Vicky so beautifully personifies." — Savannah Guthrie, NBC TODAY show anchor
"Uniquely personal and universally inspiring. Equal parts funny, inspiring, and authentic. Vicky's memoir informs, uplifts and reminds us all that America is a place where anything can happen.” — Andrew Yang
"A profoundly moving narrative that encapsulates the essence of resilience, hope, and the unyielding spirit of family. I found a personal connection to the story. A testament to the power of love and the enduring human spirit, Vicky has created a masterpiece that will resonate with readers for generations." — Lisa Sun, bestselling author of Gravitas: The 8 Strengths That Redefine Confidence
“Nguyen navigated life with spunk, optimism, and the fighting spirit she inherited from her parents. Her funny, candid, heartfelt book is a reminder that, even as we carry our pasts with us, we should keep our sights on where we want to go." — The Real Simple
Nguyen navigated life with spunk, optimism, and the fighting spirit she inherited from her parents. Her funny, candid, heartfelt book is a reminder that, even as we carry our pasts with us, we should keep our sights on where we want to go.”
Award-winning NBC News Anchor and Chief Consumer Investigative Correspondent Vicky Nguyen delivers her memoir with the same passion and rapid-fire delivery that she brings to her television work. This audiobook offers great insight into the talented journalist…Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.”
2024-12-14
The daughter of Vietnamese refugees climbs the long ladder to 30 Rock.
Following in the path of colleagues like Connie Chung and Dion Lim, Nguyen offers insight into her experience of growing up Asian American and achieving a high-profile career as a broadcast journalist. She begins with an account of her parents’ hair-raising escape from Vietnam in the 1970s, during which she was a babe in arms, followed by an account of her girlhood in California, when the family moved around quite a bit. Following her father’s early entrepreneurial successes, the threesome lived in both predominantly Vietnamese areas and ones where minorities were few. Often drawing self-help-style advice from her experience, she offers a few pieces of counsel we have not heard before: “I tell you, cheerleading is underrated as a crash course in social skills.” She also shares insights into various aspects of Vietnamese culture: “Berating the survivor for getting hurt in the first place is our language of love.” Because her career path has been relatively smooth, the main friction in the memoir comes from her relationship with her father, whose successful years in business were followed by a long period of embarrassing failure and delusion. The book is framed around the decision to move her family, including both parents, from the West Coast to New York for her high-profile job on NBC’sToday show, a tough move for her husband, who had just started his dream job in medicine. Unfortunately, the moment they got there, the pandemic hit, taking the wind out of their sails, and also providing a somewhat awkward and abrupt ending to the book. A letter of gratitude and inspiration addressed to her daughters is included as a coda.
An upbeat immigration and career narrative.
