As a seven-year-old girl in Vietnam, Mary suffered an almost fatal bout of small pox - an uncanny twist of fate that changed her life forever. Entrusted to an American couple by her young mother, who was desperate to pull her daughter from death's door, Mary bid her mother a traumatic farewell at Saigon's Tan Son Nhat International Airport and was taken to the United States. There, she experienced and abusive childhood filled with neglect as well as physical and emotional turmoil. Shortly after arriving in the US, Mary overheard a conversation in which her adoptive father, Sam Mustard, learned that her mother was the victim of a bombing raid in Saigon during the Vietnam War. However, this was not true, and after almost three decades of tears and lost hope, the Red Cross successfully reunited mother and daughter-and did so without the aid of any legal documents concerning their whereabouts. This story is an empowering testament to the courage, tenacity and determination of two hemomenal women: a mother who sacrificed parental love to give her daughter a better life and a daughter who desperately sought to recapture her lost identity.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
vindication,
By OMA "OMA" (CA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Oceans Apart: A Voyage of International Adoption (Paperback)
After reading the letter from Mrs.C.M. Carson stating she knew Margaret Mustard and that she was not the mean person Mary wrote about. I am compelled to write and vindicate Mary's character. My daughter, Karen, was Mary's best friend and she spent many years at our home. On many occasions Mary came to our home crying because Margaret had yelled, slapped and even punched her for the smallest things a child could do. Margaret tried to look like the good Christian woman to the outside world, but we knew better. Yes, she did take Mary to church so she would look respectable to the outside world while covering a very mean, vindictive person inside her home. Robert, their biological son will attest to the unkind treatment Mary endured. When Mary became a teenager Margaret called me on the phone to ask me to help her with Mary. She admitted to me she did not understand teenagers. Early one Sunday morning as the Mustards were getting in the car to go to church, Margaret and Sam began deriding Mary. When she tried to defend herself Sam grabbed Mary around the neck and began choking her. She ran to our house hystercal afraid for her life. We tried to comfort and console her. I could go on and on citing examples of mental and physical abuse that Margaret reaped upon her.
Mary has turned into a lovely, succesful Mother, friend and business woman with many supportive caring friends. She shares a great love for her family and community. I am sure C. M. Carson only saw the side of Margaret that she wanted to world to see. I am sorry that she fell for the charade and didn't see the truth. I couldn't let this facade continue as Mary has been like my own daughter these many years. She is a kind loving woman and we love her dearly. B. Griswald (Oma)Oceans Apart: A Voyage of International Adoption
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A heart warming tale of the brighter and darker sides of human nature,
By Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Oceans Apart: A Voyage of International Adoption (Paperback)
As a last ditch effort in sheer desperation to save her life from small pox - she was given up by her mother and handed to an American couple to live in the United States of America. It wasn't to be a perfect childhood by any means. "Oceans Apart: A Voyage of International Adoption" is author Mary Mustard Reed's tale of her upbringing in the United States with a childhood soaked in abuse of many, many types. Lied to that her mother had passed away, she, and her mother, go through fire and brimstone to reunite with one another to restore what should have been. "Oceans Apart: A Voyage of International Adoption" is a heart warming tale of the brighter and darker sides of human nature and that sometimes it can be overcome - a top pick for community library memoir collections.
4.0 out of 5 stars
FASCINATING,
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Oceans Apart: A Voyage of International Adoption (Paperback)
I LOVED THIS STORY. SO INTERESTING TO LEARN ABOUT OTHER CULTURES. FELT THE BOOK WAS A LITTLE DISJOINTED AT TIMES. BUT I REALLY ENJOYED IT.
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It was mesmerizing for a seven-year-old Vietnamese girl energized with the vivacious imagination drawn from still untarnished thoughts to actually live the promise of an American experience. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
oceans apart, Sài Gón, Tùng Nguyên, yellow suitcase Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Mary Mustard Reed, Viet Nam, Viêt Nam, Viët Nam, Red Cross, United States, San Jose, Bob Hope, Sam Mustard, South Vietnamese, Bill Neal, Biéh Nga, Alpha Phi, Margaret Mustard, Vêt Nam, Newport Beach, Dào Thi Thanh, Phan Dinh Phùng, Thousand Oaks, Mary Ann, Nha Trang, Angry Words, Occans Apart, Los Angeles, Santa Ana Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
It was mesmerizing for a seven-year-old Vietnamese girl energized with the vivacious imagination drawn from still untarnished thoughts to actually live the promise of an American experience. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
oceans apart, Sài Gón, Tùng Nguyên, yellow suitcase Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Mary Mustard Reed, Viet Nam, Viêt Nam, Viët Nam, Red Cross, United States, San Jose, Bob Hope, Sam Mustard, South Vietnamese, Bill Neal, Biéh Nga, Alpha Phi, Margaret Mustard, Vêt Nam, Newport Beach, Dào Thi Thanh, Phan Dinh Phùng, Thousand Oaks, Mary Ann, Nha Trang, Angry Words, Occans Apart, Los Angeles, Santa Ana Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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