When Heaven and Earth Changed Places: A Vietnamese Woman's Journey from War to Peace

While Hayslip cannot remember the moment that she decided to leave Vietnam, she made the decision that leaving would be best for her and her son. She grabbed an opportunity to make a great deal of cash. Big Mike, a soldier whom she knew, offered her $400, a fortune in Vietnam at that time, to have sex with two Marines who were about to ship out and had been in combat the whole time. She was assured that neither had any diseases. After initially declining to do so, the money was too tempting. As it turned out, she had sex with only one of the men, as the other’s bus came too quickly. She felt “buried alive” (305). Soon thereafter, she abandoned her souvenir business. Aware that she had to meet people in high places to escape Vietnam, Hayslip told her sister Lan that she would help to entertain Americans at parties. She met Steve there, who got her a good job at a hospital in Danang.

On her trip 1986, Hayslip recounts attending a dinner with Anh and two Communist party officials, Long and Xa. After some initial hesitation, they spoke freely to each other.