Owner of a Lonely Heart, by Beth Nguyen, is a memoir about absence, parenthood, and the condition of being a refugee; the fragmentation of post-war resettlement; and the uncertainty of home. Framed by a handful of visits and phone calls over the course of many years, Beth tells a coming-of-age story that spans her own Midwestern childhood, her first meeting with her mother, and becoming an adult: a writer and, also, a parent herself. Vivid and illuminating, Owner of a Lonely Heart is a deeply personal story of family, connection, and belonging—as a daughter, a mother, and as a Vietnamese refugee in America.

https://www.bethminhnguyen.com/

This is the hot summer day I’ve been waiting for––the return of heat before it’s gone for so long in the seasonal turn. I walk Charlie and let him swim in the river. Frank on his way home. I am eager to see him and have the house filled again. He’s home by the time I return. He’s willing to do what I want and suggest with the day, but I see that he’s tired, so I go along with that. We have a quiet day, I get some work done, and then a bike and a swim at the pond. The pond is in flux. Swimming in the deep I feel every temperature on a different part of my body, from cool to cold to hot to warm to tepid. i am listening and really enjoying "Owner of a Lonely Heart. Almost done. What a summer of reading this has been. Tonight, an early dinner, a long car ride with the top down, with Frank, a chance to catch up. Revised a poem from the manuscript tonight to have for workshop in the morning tomorrow. All the windows and doors open, and the noise of the crickets to sleep by.