Dear
Reader,
Have you
ever watched a movie and come away from it saying, “I am going to
visit that place?” I have. The memory of the jade waters of Halong Bay in
the film ‘Indochine’ stayed with me long after the credits had faded. A
couple of years later when a friend came home raving about Vietnam her
enthusiasm was enough to propel me into action and I booked a holiday.
Vietnam
sends you into sensory overload. The sounds of ever -honking horns, the smells
of fish sauce and lemon grass, the chaos and maelstrom of people continuously
on the move, the spectacular scenery and the friendliness of the people - all
of it sucks you into its welcoming vortex.
Vietnam
has a rich and varied history stretching way, way back, thousands of years
before its protracted civil war. Yet in the Western World it's probably most
remembered for that war. In 1975 many orphaned Vietnamese babies were flown
out of the country in cardboard boxes and adopted by families around the
western world. These babies are now adults and many of them search for
relatives in Vietnam with scant information available to them.
Australia
has many aid programs operating in Vietnam and that got me thinking about a
romance set in this beautiful country. Why would a person want to come and
work overseas in a third world country? That question was the seed of this
story.
Bec, an
Australian nurse, comes to Vietnam determined to help the children of the
country and escape the memory of her own troubled childhood. She has decided
that it's safest not to love and is creating an independent life for herself.
But she
meets Tom, a dedicated doctor. He is Eurasian. Born in Vietnam, raised in
Australia, and feeling as if he does not belong in either country, he is
working in Vietnam and trying to trace his birth mother. He feels his life is
on hold until he knows more about himself.
Together
they challenge each other’s beliefs about themselves as they travel around
Vietnam dealing with medical emergencies virtually unknown in the western
world and sadly, only too common in Vietnam.
Just as
Halong Bay with its limestone Karsts and jade green sea wove its magic over
me, it weaves a special magic over Tom and Bec. But is magic enough to keep
them together?
I hope you
enjoy travelling vicariously through Vietnam and perhaps you might book
yourself a holiday there as well. Let me know!
Luv Fiona
x
http://www.fionalowe.com
