I had the opportunity recently to edit Moonlight Nguyệt Ánh’s deeply moving book “The Depths of Suffering”, which relates the author’s experiences of losing her husband to depression and suicide with astonishing frankness and honesty. As I worked closely with Ánh to develop the English translation of her work, I couldn’t help but be drawn in by her clarity and her hope.
Ánh’s profound pain is a form of suffering that she has beaten back with a gentle and stubborn devotion. Her journey, inspired and informed by her experiences at Thích Nhất Hạnh’s Plum Village retreat in Thailand, is a reasoned, non-religious and systematic pathway of healing that she has lain out plainly for everyone who struggles with existential suffering, the black dog of depression and poor mental health.
I couldn’t help but be deeply affected by Ánh’s story. Once again, I found myself in awe of the power of writers to share their perspectives, letting their readers know exactly what it’s like to see the world through their eyes.
“The Depths of Suffering” will be released under Metro Writers imminently, sharing for the first time this important story from the perspective of a Vietnamese woman born at the cusp of tradition and modernity, coming to terms with her role as the wife of a man whose mental illness brought him to the choice to end his life. Her message is one of hope and healing.
Thanks to all followers of Metro Writers for your trust in our work.