How BỐ MẸ ƠI Came to Be

Those of us who belong to the 1.5 or 2nd generation of Vietnamese living in the Czech Republic share one thing in common: almost every conversation we have eventually turns to our relationship with our parents. This is constantly confirmed to me not only by chats with my friends, but also by the articles, podcasts, movies, songs, and books being published that feature Czech-Vietnamese individuals in some way. Is it the same for every family? Why is there so much misunderstanding? And is there anything we can do about it?

Once, while sitting in a cafe with a close friend of mine (who belongs to the 1.5 generation of Romanians in the Czech Republic), she told me about a book her mother had left for her. I knew instantly that something like this needed to be created for Vietnamese families, too! Because logically—if we understand our parents' past, maybe we will better understand what is happening now.

And that is how BỐ MẸ ƠI was born.

All the questions in the book are in Vietnamese. I know that many of us don't speak Vietnamese well enough to fully understand the questions and answers, but I believe that nowadays, we can easily overcome this barrier thanks to technology.

Linh of branches & potatoes publishing is behind the project. Annemarie took care of the design and layout, while the illustrations were created by Adela.