All the Broken Pieces by Ann Burg (my sister) was published in 2009. It was the first book I ever wrote about on this blog but I would like to revisit it again today---for Veteran's Day. It is the story of a boy from Vietnam who is adopted into an American family. It deals with how he comes to terms with his past. It also deals with Vietnam Veterans and their experiences when they came home from the war...and much more. this book is the perfect way to talk about Vietnam Veterans and their role in history. My sister always speaks about how it is a very personal story for her because of what she witnessed of the Vietnam War as she was growing up. I myself just remember images from the TV and how angry everyone was about the war. Even though the book came out a few years ago she is still getting positive responses to the novel. She recently wrote her monthly blog post about her most vivid memories of a Vietnam War Veteran. She talks about seeing him in Washington Square Park in NYC and describes the feelings she felt that never went away and changed her perspective on history. Below is an excerpt from her posting, to read the whole blog posting just click on the title below it is worth the read:
The Veteran of Washington Square ~ An Open Letter to Veterans Everywhere by Ann Burg
.....His appearance in my novel, All the Broken Pieces, was my way of honoring and thanking the Veteran of Washington Square for sacrificing his youth and his innocence.
We lost a big piece
of ourselves in Vietnam,
and none of us will
ever be the same,
but we did some good too.
We made a difference.
I wish my Washington Square Veteran could see this post or read my book. I hope that he has found some measure of peace. Whatever one’s opinion about Vietnam, or any war for that matter, all veterans deserve our respect and gratitude. From the deepest recesses of my heart, I wish them peace.
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To all who have sacrificed for our country---Thank You! -- RM
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