There is nothing more Vietnamese-American than a Madonna cover sung by Lynda Trang Dai.

For a kid who only heard American pop music through bootleg VHS tapes of Paris by Night, Lynda Trang Dai’s raspy alto voice was a breath of fresh air from opera-trained singers in ao dais (The traditional Vietnamese dress) about war, loss, and missing the homeland. One of my earliest childhood memories is of her performing “Material Girl” in a gold lamé minidress and I thought to myself, “That’s what I want. To be like her.”

It’s taken a lot of journaling, meditation, and sage sticks to interpret that memory correctly. As a 5-year-old, I took it literally—that my aspiration was to be a Vietnamese pop star. More recently, I thought it meant being on *a stage* as a public speaker. But if you squint hard enough, you’ll realize the stage also looks like a stack of books.

Long story short, that’s how Lynda Trang Dai inadvertently influenced me into writing a novel about what it’s like to be Vietnamese-American and the joys (and perils) of being with a white man.

If you grew up with her music, what’s your story? Did you secretly hoard cassette tapes of her music? Or did you hate her performances like my parents did?

Hit the Reply button and let me know. I’m working on an article about this topic, so don’t be shy!

If you have no idea what I’m talking about, enjoy this campy rendition of Express Yourself when she rips off her white suit to reveal a metallic bralette top and high-waisted shorts. It’s like getting a glimpse of Britney Spears’ MTV VMA 2000s Awards performance, seven years beforehand.

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Three Things I ❤️ for June

What I’m reading 📚: House of Sticks by Ly Tran. I immediately connected with Ly on the first page because her origin story is so similar to mine: We both grew up in the 90s, are “Uts” of our family (The youngest ones), and both of our dads fought for South Vietnam and subsequently, spent time in re-education camps. If I had known there was a Vietnamese girl struggling with the same anxiety and depression I had across the country, I wouldn’t have felt so alone during my teenage years. It’s hard not to cry when she’s recounting her father’s war trauma-induced fits of rage while simultaneously trying to intellectualize his actions:

What I’m streaming ⏯: In a similar Madonna eighties vibe, I recently discovered Great Good Fine Okay’s cover of Easy Lover, aka my favorite Phil Collins song of all time. If you’ve seen the original music video with Earth, Wind, and Fire’s Phillip Bailey, you’ll laugh out loud at their modern interpretation with Panama Wedding. So good!

What I’m cooking👩🏻‍🍳: This Vietnamese chicken salad with watermelon radishes. It’s so good, I made it 3x in 2 weeks. The perfect make-ahead dish for Spring, and you get extra chicken broth for another use! Just look at those colors 😍

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Happy June Reader,

Sophia :)

P.S. Sorry if you got a broken link when accessing the first chapter of Eight Years Later from last month’s newsletter. If you didn’t have time to read yet, hit the Reply button and I’ll send it over!