Finding Peace & Letting Go

As the final chapters of the book draw to a close, Le Ly and her niece are making a farewell dinner for Le Ly before she leaves.  Ba unexpectedly shows up at the dinner.  Hayslip is in disbelief and immediately thanks her mother for arranging the visit.  Her mother used a didactic message to teach Le Ly a lesson.  Her mother said, "It seemed like the right thing to do, Bay Ly. I got to thinnking about it last night. I asked myself, 'What good does it do to teach Bay Ly about charity and forgiveness if you've forgotten those things yourself?' What an old hen I've become, feuding with my number-two daughter while my own life dribbles away--water from a leaky cold jug! And what was I teaching Ba in the process, eh? How to hold a grudge?"  Her mother teaches her to look out for other people and have an open mind about all cultures and people.  In response to this lesson, Le Ly Hayslip set up the East Meets West Foundation focuses on making Vietnam a better place.  You can access the foundations website at http://www.eastmeetswest.org/.