A memoir
of a survivor
Some said I was strong,
others thought I was reckless.
My mother named me a mistake,
CC called me a fighter.
As for me—I see a survivor, pushing against the waves to stay afloat in the wild sea of my own becoming.
Every book begins somewhere, sometimes with an idea, sometimes with a wound.
I began Bồng Bềnh with both.
Bồng Bềnh, which means afloat, started as a private space I created for myself. A place to unload the heavy train of thoughts in my head, and the quiet weight life had been placing on my heart. The further I walked through life, the heavier that weight became, pressing against my chest until I knew that if I kept everything inside, I would eventually break.
Writing became the only way to release my mind - overflowing, messy, chaotic, full of questions, and to release my heart - overflowing with love - for life, for people, for nature, for art, for... every little thing.
Yet for the longest time, I didn’t know what I was supposed to write about, or why anyone would read my stories.
Because,
I am not famous.
I am not wealthy.
I am not successful.
I am not the kind of person someone feels the need of pausing to listen to. I don’t have answers or expertise, only a lifetime of questions and a heart that feels too deeply.
So often I wondered: Who would ever read my book? Why would anyone care?
I began writing in 2015, then abandoned the manuscript. I was ready to accept that it would remain unfinished forever. But in 2023, someone came into my life, placed a pen in my hand, and in that small moment I realised something simple and true:
There is one thing I know best- my life.
What I have witnessed.
What I have learned.
What I have pondered,
loved,
lost,
fought and survived.
In Oct 2025, while walking through a quiet forest in Budapest, I told D that I was writing a memoir. He smiled gently and teased, “Are you on your way out of life? Aren’t you a bit too young for that?”
Perhaps.
But parts of me have already lived a full life, and died once.
It is a miracle that I’m still here at all.
So I write from that miracle and from that rebirth.
Bồng Bềnh was not meant to change the world. I may not even change a single household. But I refuse to remain silent when something must be said. I refuse to turn away simply because speaking up feels risky.
Because there is no justice, if we all stay quiet out of fear or ignorance.
If BồngBềnh reaches you, even in the smallest way, then its purpose is fulfilled.
These are the pieces of a life I lived, lost, and reclaimed.
Thank you for holding them with me.
🦋
