After Sorrow : An American among the Vietnamese

By Lady Borton

Book Overview

After Sorrow spans an American woman's twenty-five years of experience in Viet Nam. It is the story of the ordinary Vietnamese whom Americans fought against but never had the chance to know. Lady Borton has come to know these people intimately from her work there, first in a Quaker Service rehabilitation center for civilian amputees in South Viet Nam (1969-71), and up to the present. After Sorrow centers on the last eight years, during which Lady made repeated visits to three villages, one a former Viet Cong base in the Mekong Delta of southern Viet Nam, another a rice-farming commune in the Red River Delta of northern Viet Nam, and the third, Ha Noi, which Vietnamese call their "largest village". In this deeply moving memoir, Lady's women friends recall their own roles in the struggles that climaxed in the American War. These are war stories of a kind we have not heard before: women's stories of courage, guile, patience, and fate; of climbing mountains and hiding in rivers and capturing prisoners, of carrying rifles beneath vats of fish sauce in canoes, of mourning husbands, of thousands missing. In Lady Borton's previous book, Sensing the Enemy, she wrote about the Boat People who left Viet Nam. After Sorrow is the strong and uplifting story of the people who stayed.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0670843326
• ISBN13: 9780670843329
• Release Date: January 1970
• Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.31 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 3.9" x 2.5"

Customer Reviews

A Deeper Look

Lady Borton lives with the Vietnamese people and tells their story with empathy and insight. She reveals the face of the enemy that the French and the Americans never saw during the liberation struggles to oppose colonial oppression. This book sheds light on the American failure to understand the hearts and minds of this nation of artists and poets.

very thoughtfull

As a veteran of the war in Viet Nam, I can say that the thought of reading another book about the war was not appealing. Most of the books are so apologetic, jingoistic, or wrapped up in macho face-saving that they are of little use. This book was recommended by a friend who met Ms Borton in Viet Nam. He had not read her book, but was impressed by her enough to tell me about her. I found 'After Sorrow' in my Colleges library and after reading it, have since bought several copies to give to friends, mostly fellow veterans. It is an excellent book: personal and painfully revealing and very well written.I recommend it to anyone interested in that war, or the role of women in war, or anyone interested in a good book. My only complaint is the use of translated names without giving the Viet Namese original. The translated names are beautiful and lyric but I would like to know what 'Autumn' or 'River' or 'Second Harvest' are in their own language.

very thoughtfull

As a veteran of the war in Viet Nam, I can say that the thought of reading another book about the war was not appealing. Most of the books are so apologetic, jingoistic, or wrapped up in macho face-saving that they are of little use. This book was recommended by a friend who met Ms Borton in Han Noi, Viet Nam. He had not read her book, but was impressed by her enough to tell me about her. Unknown to my friend, I was in Quang Ngai City in 1969 when she was there (I in Air Cavalry, she with Quaker Services) and I knew of (and respected) the work of her organization from that time. I found 'After Sorrow' in my Colleges library and after reading it, have since bought several copies to give to friends, mostly fellow veterans. The reception has always been positive. It is an excellent book: personal and painfully revealing and very well written. It covers several extended visits by Ms Borton to various parts of the country over a span of some twenty years. I recommend it to anyone interested in the war, or the role of women in war, or really anyone interested in a good book. The beginning section, a visit to a village in the Mekong delta area, was particularly startling in the discussion of how effective the village women were as guerillas. My only complaint is the use of translated names without giving the Viet Namese original. The translated names are beautiful and lyric but I would like to know what 'Autumn' or 'River' or 'Second Harvest' are in their own language.

One of the most beautiful books I've ever read.

It's hard to describe this book, which is so lovely. I've fallen in love with the Viet Nam people, their courage, their steadfastness in the face of horror, and the surprising part the women played in finally gaining their independence.

This book has had a wonderful healing effect in my life.

This book has had a wonderful healing effect in this veteran's life. The first person I gave it to was my wife. Lady Borton's heart pumps refreshing life back into a people and a country that I loved, but was hired to crush.