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When Heaven and Earth Changed Places

Le Ly Hayslip

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Important Quotations Explained

1. The special gift of suffering, I have learned, is how to be strong while we are weak, how to be brave when we are afraid, how to be wise in the midst of confusion, and how to let go of that which we can no longer hold. In this way, anger can teach us forgiveness, hate can teach us love, and war can teach us peace.


2. “No,” my father replied sadly, “don’t hate Chin - and don’t hate Ba for marrying him. Hate the war for doing what it did to them both.”


3. “My little peach blossom - haven’t you learned yet that fate or luck or god works in its own way, and reveals its secrets in its own time? When has it ever paid you to turn your face from life? Keep your faith, Bay Ly: Look those deepest, darkest, most terrible fears in the face and learn the lessons they’ve come to teach -”


4. Vietnam already had too many people who were ready to die for their beliefs. What it needed was men and women - brothers and sisters - who refused to accept either death or death-dealing as a solution to their problems. If you keep compassion in your heart, I discovered, I discovered, you never long for death yourself. From my father’s death, I had finally learned how to live.


5. Like they say, Mot cau mhin, chin car lanh (One word of forgiveness brings back nine gentle favors).