A Harrowing Journey Through Space, Time, and Human Resilience
Sea of Hope recounts, from the point of view of 11-year-old Barbara Ma, the gripping true story of a family in the mid-1970s in an enchanted seaside village north of Saigon. Engrossed in daily life, overflowing with curiosity, Barbara and her siblings help out in their parents’ pharmacy and fishing supply store, tide-pool behind their house, and study (and goof off) in school.
But as the North Vietnamese government gradually inserts itself into village affairs, and the war and political tensions escalate, the Ma family faces growing uncertainty. Afraid to draw attention to his family and business, Father realizes that they will have to leave Vietnam -- their only alternative to an impending reign of repression and terror.
In a harrowing escape on a moonless night, they sail off -- forever -- into the South China Sea, and are nearly lost to the deities of the depths. But with Father and Mother as pole stars, they navigate their way to a future they could barely imagine, eventually landing in southern California. There, adrift once again, they haltingly launch difficult -- and then extraordinary -- new lives.
This exciting volume spans genres: it is a true tale of adventure, a young adult coming-of-age story, and a deeply personal history that unfolds during Vietnam’s most violent era – a time that coincided with America’s own search for its identity. Sea of Hope illuminates what can happen when politics and people change -- imperceptibly at first, and then with frightening immediacy. Yet we discover and learn, through Barbara and the Ma family, that their dreams and faith in the future can prevail. No obstacles are a match for the extraordinary strength of the human spirit.
