Book 1 - Blog 1 - The Girl in the Picture

Book Details:
The Girl in the Picture
The story of Kim Phuc, the Photograph, and the Vietnam War
Pages: 372
Pages read: 266
Words on page 50: 297 (33 x 9)
Words in book: 110, 484 (averaged)
ISBN 0-14-028021-9
Author: Denise CHong
Published: 1999 by Simon and Schuster Australia

Comments:

Well, this book is an amazing read. Kim (or Phuc, as they call her in the book) has had a terrible life since she was burnt by a Napalm bomb (dropped by South Vietnamese fighter planes) on their own civilians on June 8, 1972. She as photographed by a Vietnamese journalist as she ran away from the blast, still on fire, with burns to a high percentage of her body. Her face was not burnt, thankfully, and she notes "thank God my face was not burned. Even if my character was as good as an angel, if my face were ugly, it would be better that I had died".

That might have been one of the things that ensured Kim maintained a strong positive attitude both during her recovery, and into her life as a recovered burns victim. She was burnt at the age of nine, and after the Vietnam war ended in her area, the Vietnam - Cambodia war started, so Kim and her family lived in constant fear for many years.

She came from a strong Caodai (religious denomination) background, and she was thankful to Caodai that she was alive and was able to live a somewhat normal life. She lived in pain constantly, though, and her mother and father were there for her always. That is, until later in life (early in her twenties) that she adopted Catholicism. That was against her parents wishes, and although they did not disown her, they stopped supporting her when she needed it most.

Communism came to Vietnam, and where her family were previously wealthy restaurant owners, they were now stripped of their ability to earn a living by a communist government. Kim tried to study medicine (to follow her passion to help people - that she developed in the hospital during her recovery). She told her parents that they gave her life, but the doctors and nurses kept her alive. This drove her to enrol in Medicine.

It was about ten years after her burns, that things started going horribly wrong for her. Her mum (who had all of the families lives taken responsibility for supporting everyone, including all of her children and her husband) cut off her support, due to her Christianity. Kim was forbidden by the state from continuing to study medicine, then she started to become an international celebrity, as the face of the Vietnam war. She was the girl in the picture.

As she was 'forced' by Vietnam to take interviews, both domestically and internationally, she was forced to lie about her position in life, which was one of poverty and near starvation. She enjoyed the overseas 'adventures', though life for her in Vietnam was unchanged, and she returned each time to poverty. It was not until she befriended the then president of Vietnam that her situation changed.

Feelings

Kim Phuc is a very resilient woman. She is struggling in life (at age 23 - currently as far as I have read).

It was amazing that after she turned to Catholicism, and was baptised in that faith, things started changing for the better in her life. She asked the Lord for very specific things, and he delivered each time, further strengthening her beliefs.

Although I am a catholic, in my mind, it is more a case of the universe provides. What you want and need in life, will be yours, if you are committed and do what it takes to make it happen. Kim is an example of how to do that.

I can't wait to finish the book, and give you some more insights into her life.