Viet Thanh Nguyen’s story “Someone Else Besides You” offers readers an extraordinary insight into an intriguing life that transcends a single culture. The story shows the generational imperfections instilled in human beings by the tribulation’s life presents, and how the older
generation internalizes those experiences, forming a calloused personal disposition. It’s an example of a person who was affected by second-hand psychological trauma. This story is not just a story of Thomas’ life, but rather an example of how life can spiral out of one’s
reach, with the nearly impossible task of managing the love of an impossible father and the phenomenon of women. It is a guide to overcoming life’s physical and psychological obstacles and to realizing that no matter the circumstances, what truly matters to them is what they must
come to terms with. (Nguyen, 2017).
Viet Thanh Nguyen’s story resonates with me because I feel that much of my own past and the culture I grew up in and around carved out my future and made me who I am today, for better or worse. Is it a phenomenon that people who grow up in the same environments can end up in completely different spaces than each other as their lives go by? Some succumb to the poisons that flood the neighborhoods with lower economic situations, and others flourish. Like “Thomas” in Viet Thanh Nguyen’s “Someone Else Besides You,” I had men in my life as a child who were emotionally impaired and a lot of bit rough around the edges. The kind of men who considered showing you that they cared came in the form of an insult. But these men, like Thomas’ father, always gave it to me straight; they showed me how to take care of my life and let me know when I was falling short. Therefore, I believe that the combination of growing up in an environment that I didn’t want to raise my children in and the men who helped me to the fire gave me the desire to always move forward and strive to be the best version of me that I can be.
Nguyen, Viet Thanh. “Someone Else Besides You.” The Refugees, Grove Press, 2017, pp. 187–213.
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