- 226 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub
About this book
"A tender and courageous and truly haunting memoir—one of the very best to emerge from the American war in Vietnam. I loved this book." —Tim O'Brien, author of
The Things They Carried
In this piercingly honest memoir, renowned poet Bruce Weigl explores the central experience of his life as a writer and a man: the Vietnam War, which tore his life apart and inspired his poetic voice.
Weigl knew nothing about Vietnam before enlisting in 1967, but he saw a free ride out of a difficult childhood among volatile people. The war completely changed his life; there was a before and then an irrevocable after. In the before, Weigl pretended to be dead in mock battles with his friends; in the after, he watched as a boy from his unit whispered to Vietnamese corpses while caring for their inert bodies as if they were dolls.
Weigl returned from Vietnam unprepared to cope with civilian life. He turned to alcohol, drugs, and women in an attempt to escape his confused purgatory, but only found himself alone, watching other people's lives from the shadows. Eventually finding his way back into the world, Weigl drew solace from poetry and, later, from a family.
Yet, it is not until his harrowing journey back to Hanoi, to adopt a Vietnamese daughter, that Weigl finds redemption. This act of personal humanity and recompense to a nation he helped to destroy lies at the heart of his memoir. The Circle of Hanh is a "moving, singular, and highly readable" chronicle of a haunted life and, ultimately, a stunning work of healing ( Kirkus Reviews, starred review).
In this piercingly honest memoir, renowned poet Bruce Weigl explores the central experience of his life as a writer and a man: the Vietnam War, which tore his life apart and inspired his poetic voice.
Weigl knew nothing about Vietnam before enlisting in 1967, but he saw a free ride out of a difficult childhood among volatile people. The war completely changed his life; there was a before and then an irrevocable after. In the before, Weigl pretended to be dead in mock battles with his friends; in the after, he watched as a boy from his unit whispered to Vietnamese corpses while caring for their inert bodies as if they were dolls.
Weigl returned from Vietnam unprepared to cope with civilian life. He turned to alcohol, drugs, and women in an attempt to escape his confused purgatory, but only found himself alone, watching other people's lives from the shadows. Eventually finding his way back into the world, Weigl drew solace from poetry and, later, from a family.
Yet, it is not until his harrowing journey back to Hanoi, to adopt a Vietnamese daughter, that Weigl finds redemption. This act of personal humanity and recompense to a nation he helped to destroy lies at the heart of his memoir. The Circle of Hanh is a "moving, singular, and highly readable" chronicle of a haunted life and, ultimately, a stunning work of healing ( Kirkus Reviews, starred review).
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Yes, you can access The Circle of Hanh by Bruce Weigl in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in History & Literary Biographies. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.
Information
Table of contents
- Cover Page
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Prologue
- Part One The River Where the Moon Falls
- Part Two Stories from the Hidden Book
- Part Three Wrestling Sharon
- Part Four Spike
- Part Five Sharon’s October
- Part Six The Borderline
- Part Seven Before and After
- Part Eight The Circle of Hanh
- About the Author