When Heaven and Earth Changed Places

By: Le Ly Hayslip, Jay Wurts - contributor

Narrated by: Nancy Kwan

This haunting memoir tells the brutal story of the Vietnam War from the perspective of an innocent victim whose childhood was dominated by violence, devastation, and conflicts between the teachings of her culture and the realities of war. Le Ly Hayslip—the youngest in a close-knit Buddhist family—was 12 years old when U.S. helicopters landed in her village. She was raped and "ruined" for marriage by Viet Cong soldiers, imprisoned and tortured by the South Vietnamese, and sentenced to death by the Viet Cong. Ultimately fleeing to the U.S. with her children, Le Ly finally found peace, and in 1986, she was reunited with her family in Vietnam. The story of her homecoming—interwoven with her memories of the war years—paints a vivid picture of a noble, optimistic woman and her native country.

©1993 Le Ly Hayslip (P)1993 Phoenix Books, Inc.

an honest expression of the realities of war.

This book gives insight into a peasant girl's experience of war. good to read to understand what 'taking sides' is really about, and how it matters less than loving and forgiveness. Very honest and real.

Why is the full version not available?

It’s significantly abridged! Narrator is great. The story is harrowing! Important piece of work.

Please provide the full version

Not enough

I was very excited to find this audiobook on audible.com initially, but I later found out that the reading did not include the complete book, which I need to have completed for class which left me to still need to actually buy the book and read it. :-(

The apparent honesty as she had to navigate endlessly changing power structures.

Th constant jumping from her early teens to her adult final visit back to Vietnam was disjointed. I would rather it had been presented linearly. I lost track of my own time line wrt hers.

Abridged version! Don't get if you want full book!

I can't give this a fair review because I was disappointed I missed the fact that it is abridged,