Overview

THE VIETNAM WAR ROCKED AUSTRALIA TO ITS CORE... The Third Chopstick transports us back to those days. In starkly beautiful prose Biff Ward, herself a protester, seeks to understand the war from multiple angles. She balances the heartfelt motivations of the protest movement with candid accounts from veterans about what was happening for them in Vietnam and afterwards. In riveting interviews, she explores combat, the ravages of PTSD, and the acceptance that can come with ageing and peer support. She also takes us to the peaceful Vietnam of the post-war years, capturing poignant images of the aftermath of what they, of course, call the American War. Her lyrical evocation of the people she meets and war sites she visits render the war in a new light. The Third Chopstick is the profoundly moving story of one woman's passion to bear tender witness to those involved in that tumultuous time. A must-read for all the Vietnam generation, their descendants and friends. Peter Yule, author of The Long Shadow, said, I have been studying the impact of the war on the lives of Vietnam veterans for many years and I learnt more from this book than any other I have read.

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9781922812025

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There has long been a total disconnect between those who protested against the Vietnam War and those who were sent to fight there. In this skilfully crafted memoir, former protester Biff Ward bridges the chasm between these two parties. Deeply moving, often funny, sometimes shocking, this highly readable book weaves together the three themes of anti-war protest, the experiences of Vietnam veterans, and the author's love affair with the people and culture of Vietnam. I have been studying the impact of the war on the lives of Vietnam veterans for many years and I learnt more from this book than any other I have read. - Peter Yule, author of the medical history of the veterans of the Vietnam War, The Long Shadow Compassion, courage, and a desire for true connection: Biff Ward brings those to every page in this thoroughly original and thought-provoking exploration of war from the perspective of an anti-war protester who goes on to listen deeply and openly to the stories of soldiers. Remarkable. - Nigel Featherstone, author of Bodies of Men This book illuminates like a searchlight the long shadows cast by the highly controversial Vietnam War - across protestors, combatants, ordinary civilians, and on national psyches. As an Australian who has long pondered our role in that devastating conflict, the book became for me an irresistible inspiration to visit Vietnam, and to understand its resilient reconciliation. - Jackie Yowell, publisher For many anti-Vietnam War protesters, their days in the movement are the stuff of nostalgia. But for Biff Ward, protest against the war would become the foundation of a continuing engagement with Vietnam and the legacies of its American War - for the people of Vietnam itself, but also for the men sent there by their governments to fight. She presents a profoundly human and personal account, a tender story of pain and resilience, and an ode to a country that has endured in the face of everything that a tragic modern history has thrown in its path. - Frank Bongiorno, Professor of History at the Australian National University From the comfort of the moral certainties of her years as an anti-Vietnam war protestor, Biff Ward enters the alien world of traumatized Vietnam veterans, driven to understand who they are. As she hears their emotion-filled stories she is absorbed into their community where she encounters her veteran muse. A compelling read. - Graham Walker, Vietnam veteran, AM, the 'intellectual driving force' for the veteran community in relation to justice around the Agent Orange issue, as described by Peter Yule.

Author Information

Biff Ward's literary memoir, In My Mother's Hands (Allen & Unwin, 2014), was short-listed for the NSW and WA Premiers' literary awards and long-listed for The Stella Prize in 2015. In 1984, her ground-breaking expose, Father-Daughter Rape was published in the UK and the US. Her work has been published in various anthologies. Her novella, In 1974, was a winner of the Griffith Review novella competition in 2017. She lives in Canberra. For more information about the author go to https: //www.biffward.com.au

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