Author Description

Lan Anh Hoàng was born in a small village in northern Viet Nam in 1977. Emerging after many years of war the country was still extremely poor, and nowhere was this poverty felt more than in villages. As a young girl and the daughter of a tyrannical father, the odds were stacked against her from the start. As the old Vietnamese saying went, oft repeated by her father, girls were not worth a single testicle hair of a man. For Lan there was no chance of schooling, and life was a constant round of working, foraging and scavenging to survive – and avoid another beating from her father. From an early age she dreamt only of escape. But where to? This is the story of one woman's extraordinary resilience, of how she used the power of observation to educate herself and navigate the extreme challenges she faced. Ultimately it is a tale of triumph against adversity. The author's wish is that her tale will inspire others with a story to tell.