As a Vietnamese-American woman reading the accounts of another woman’s journey and accounts closely resemble my own family’s. The author captivated me right from the beginning when she gives everyone’s background and roles, first arrival to foreign land to begin what seems like the dream, “an American dream,” that everyone strives for.

I found myself paralleling my own life with that of the author’s; I have heard the stories from my own mother and imagined her in the author’s shoes. It was moving, humbling, and enthralling from beginning to end. Thank you so much for connecting me back to my roots and reminding me of my history. The nostalgia hit me and I teared up so many times within the book. Reading it was just a beautiful experience. I can’t wait if this goes on audiobook.

Vicky Nguyen's memoir provides readers an insightful read about what happens to Vietnamese refugees after the Vietnam War with a personal account. Readers learn about the journeys of escaping Vietnam for a better life, and what her family endures and goes through in the United States of America to become "Americans" and what it means to find success. Nguyen's writing brings you in and you do not want to put the book down.

In "Boat Baby", Vicky Nguyen looks back on her life and shares not only her rise as a top correspondent and journalist at CNN and NBC, but the difficult years of her childhood as well as her parents' stories.

There's so much packed in this deceptively short book; Nguyen covers her parents' escape from Saigon in the years after the Vietnamese War in a war-torn country. As an infant, she joined her parents as they made the harrowing journey to a refugee camp in Malaysia where a letter from her mother to her employer was able to guarantee them sponsorship to Eugene, Oregon and a chance for the family to rebuild their lives. In Eugene, Reno, and San Jose, Vicky watched as her parents worked their way up and saved up, allowing her father to pursue various business exploits, from running a food truck to opening a furniture store - allowing the family to become financially stable. For Vicky, it was a jarring time as she was always considered different and an outsider by her peers; but she learned from a young age to advocate for herself and built up her self-confidence. In college, she joined the cheerleading squad (and recommends it to everyone), was student body president, and graduated as valedictorian. Her time at the University of San Francisco a chance conversation encourages her to choose Communications as her major and pursue a gritty career in TV journalism.

Nguyen brings us along her years starting as a reporter at local news stations before landing her role at NBC News in New York. Her experiences are full of wisdoms, and an encouragement for everyone to negotiate their salaries and know their own worth; I was impressed that she included her actual salary across her various jobs. In between, she shares the difficulty of maintaining a long-distance relationship with her childhood sweetheart, Brian, and the sacrifices they made personally and professionally for their relationship; her strained relationship with her father, especially after his continued risk-taking costs his family most of their assets; and juggling a demanding career with motherhood. Her writing is straightforward and open, and she shares some of the most private and personal moments of her life with an admirable honesty and humor.

As a fellow first-generation Asian immigrant, there were so many moments and topics that hit home for me and I'd recommend to any readers once "Boat Baby" is published in 2025!

I don't tend to love celebrity memoirs because they can be hard to relate to. But besides the fact that I hadn't heard of this reporter, this memoir managed to touch on her rise in the public eye without making that the point of the book. You could replace her reporting career with another career in which she started at the bottom, worked hard, had some wild experiences, and found big success. Because the book is more about her family, their culture, and most of all their attitudes about hardship.

The book is especially rich in the beginning with the family's escape from Vietnam and their early experiences in the US. I loved the complexity of her parents and her relationship with them. I also appreciated the opportunity to learn more about Vietnam and Vietnamese culture.

I give this 4.5 stars (rounded up to 5) because there were a few minor flaws, including the story lagging during her high school and college years. Overall it was a fantastic read.

I have watched Vicky on the Today Show from the start and always saw a bundle of smart energy. Alot of people watch the news and think, how lucky are those anchors but most don't realize the hard work and sacrifice it takes to get there. Vicky's story is proof of that and the family history and the immigrant story really resonates especially now. Also shows it not only requires hard work and personal sacrifice but how the support of family and the tole it played was totally remarkable.