In 1981, a young woman faced death as she lay on the floor of a small boat in the South China Sea fleeing the life she once knew in Vietnam.
In 2008, her teenage daughter lay fighting for her life after being brutally raped and abandoned while returning books at a library near Tampa, Florida.
The attack in front of the Bloomingdale library left Queena with a traumatic brain injury, sentenced to a life unable to walk, see, or speak. As Vanna Nguyen lovingly poured herself into caring for her now severely disabled daughter, she also battled with reliving her own Vietnam War survival story. And she must decide, can she forgive the attacker whose unforgivable decision changed both their lives as they knew them forever?
In The Life She Once Knew:The Incredible True Story of Queena, The Bloomingdale Library Attack Survivor, Vanna candidly chronicles the deeply spiritual and emotionally powerful journeys of these two strong women as they fight for their lives and their futures decades apart.
About
As a young child, Vanna Nguyen enjoyed a prestigious life in South Vietnam until the country's fall to Communism in 1975. After risking her life for the dream of freedom, she fled to the United States where she became a citizen and raised her two daughters, Anna and Queena. Life was perfect until 18-year-old Queena was brutally attacked and raped while dropping books off at the local library. As a result of the attack, Vanna lost not only her once-thriving small business, but she also lost her beloved daughter as she knew her. Today, Vanna is a tireless advocate for Queena's rehabilitation from traumatic brain injury sustained during the attack. Vanna manages the popular Join Queena website and official social media accounts. Vanna was compelled to write her memoir to share her journey as a refugee and as a mother whose daughter suffered a traumatic brain injury. Vanna hopes her story will inspire others and will imbue them with strength.