Envelope

Hanoi

The Sorrow of War was written by Bao Ninh, an elite NVA soldier who survived seven years at war. His war novel is highly acclaimed for the manner in which it depicts combat, love and loss. Medic read the book in 1994 while living in New Zealand. He regreted not meeting Bao Ninh while traveling in Southeast Asia in 1995. In 1998, then living in Tarrytown,New York Medic met an acquaintance of Ninh's.  Medic eventually wrote to him in Hanoi. Ninh replied with a Christmas card. In 2000, by extraordinary coincidence, Medic met Ninh at the William Joiner Center Writer's Workshop in Boston.  See Strange Meeting in the Post War section.