Motherlogs

Motherlogs is a series of letters and journal entries that chronicle memories of my grandfather as I brace myself before, during and after his death. These letters vary in theme and tone, going from thoughtful, linear recollections to obscure, absurd and even meaningless memories. The letters have no clear chronological order. They are rift with emoticons, un-funny jokes, Ho Chi Minh quotes, childhood photos, my dorm room altars in hundreds of iterations, Spotify playlists, memories of what my grandpa missed while he was gone, and reenactments with him inserted.

As someone whose family’s displacement to the U.S. is the direct result of war, my family made the decision to bring my grandfather’s urn home to Vietnam as opposed to burying him in the States. In my grandmother’s mind, the U.S. will never be home — there is no assurance that future generations will stay. As a result, these letters will serve as both a eulogy to grandpa and a log of my eternal homecoming to Vietnam.