This was the second August pick for the Modern Mrs. Darcy Book Club.

This novel follows three generations of Vietnamese-American women after the death of their matriarch, Minh. As we watch Ann and her mother, Huong, mourn the loss of Minh, we also get glimpses of the past from 1960s Vietnam through to the swamplands of Florida in the present day. We learn about the trials both Huong and Minh faced in their past, which secrets they chose to keep and the ripple effects those have created.

I enjoyed this novel and I found the theme of inheritance to be a powerful one. The author explores the secrets and traumas that can be passed down through generations and the myriad of ways the ripple effect of that inheritance can affect a person and even the people they surround themselves with. The keeping of secrets is another prominent theme. What right do we have to keep secrets and what right do we have to tell them? Overall, I enjoyed getting to know this family of women and the exploration of their lives as they try to learn from their past and find a better way to move forward.