A Feast of Words and Emotions.

The craft of communications, distilled by a true storyteller, one who is neither dreamy nor bewildered.

Borrowing Trang’s word “distilled” gives me a quiet joy inside. A joy that is both intimate and fulfilling like the delight I feel when reading Trang’s writing, the joy of finding a soulmate in words.

When Trang first sent me the manuscript, I couldn’t fulfill the task entrusted to me - for plenty of reasons. And when I finally held the book in my hands, I honestly wasn’t sure when, or if, I would manage to read it through without letting my friend down.

And yet, I devoured it. Every single word (even spotting a missing word due to a printing error), in just seven days - on buses, on planes, in bed, at the dining table, on the grass by the riverbank…

First and foremost, I LOVE Trang’s words. Just as I once fell for the words of Nguyễn Ngọc Tư, of Phan Việt, of Nguyễn Ngọc Thuần. I savored, devoured the feast of words Trang laid out for me. Every word felt so precise, so vibrant, so alive, didn’t it, Trang?! Ten years and nine hundred baskets of words-are they all here in these pages???

Second, I thank Trang for the meticulous storytelling. The world of communications, filled with fragments of memories I thought I had long forgotten, was retold with such vivid detail, as if sketching a shrimp with every tiny wriggling leg (to borrow Du Tử Lê’s imagery). Thanks to that, I believe young readers, those who want to understand the trade, to distill insights and approaches, will find countless points of connection in these stories. Each one carries theory seamlessly embodied in real-world, cross-industry experiences, told through perspectives both naïve and seasoned, yet always genuine. It is a way of teaching and learning that feels more digestible, more inspiring, than any heavy-handed textbook on methodology.

For those of us who belong to the same generation as Trang, these notes are like a Moonlight Sonata, illuminating, awakening emotions long covered by the dust of time. To be honest, I even managed to connect a few bright sparks for my current work through the well-practiced stories this book contains.

My final “spoiler” is a confession of love for the shortest chapter - the one that holds the weight of life and death. Still the same detailed storytelling, but here I feel Trang has distilled so much of her own journey with cancer. There, amidst the darkest days, emotions still shine through, so bright, so Trang. In those words, I remembered Phi, Thảo, and the farthest corners of the earth I have been fortunate to travel in more than half of my life, and I felt only gratitude. “And that’s all.”

Closing the book, I only wish Trang many more bright, gentle days—less self-scrutiny, more self-liberation. So I may read Trang’s writings again and again, even if I must wait a little longer.