Daughter From Danang: The Existence Of Family

In our childhood, the most important people to us are our parents. We rely on parents to feed us, clothe us, provides for us, shelter us, and most importantly love us. Unfortunately, some parents fail to complete these important duties for their children. These disasters either happen by choice or by circumstance. The absence of family hurts everyone during childhood. Parental loss is a theme in Daughter from Danang, When the Emperor was Divine, and in my family’s own experiences. When a child loses a parent by circumstances, it affects the child differently than if they lost a parent due to neglect.

In the movie Daughter from Danang, Heidi Bub, born Mai Thi Hiep, is taken from Vietnam at age seven and is brought to Pulaski, Tennessee which

My mother and her brother grew up with an absent father, who was an alcoholic and would regularly lie to his family. Eventually, my grandmother kicked him out of her family (Stephanie Soler). Even though it was my grandmother’s choice to force him out of the household, it was his own fault for not being there for his kids. He could have chosen to quit drinking and be truthful to his family, but he let his addiction get the better of him and he faced the consequences. Growing up my mom “became very independent because she had a mom single supporting a family of three.” It also made her very sad and jealous of friends who had super awesome dads. As she relates to the story, “it really stressed out my mom and I was aware of how stressed out she was. Once I was six years old and I got super sick in the middle of the night and I did not wake her up because I did not want to cause any problems.” My mother then had to deal with her own mother's alcoholism by becoming "very independent. I made my own breakfast, I made my own lunch, I would get to school myself starting in kindergarten. I would catch the bus in the city of Chicago. It was insane. I couldn’t even read or tell time, but I would set an alarm for 7:30 and walk to the bus stop asking strangers when the bus came. I was five..” My mother was never angry at her father for not being there. All she wanted was for him to be there for her. She just wished she had the opportunity to meet him (Stephanie Soler).” My mother’s life had been disparate by the choices of her parents. Who knows if her life would have been better or worse, but it is clear that her life is drastically