The Best We Could Do is an illustrated memoir written by Vietnamese author Thi Bui and was published in 2017 by Abrams Books.
The memoir details Bui’s experience living with her parents and their journey during the Vietnamese War (!955-75) and their escape as refugees to the United States. Bui first developed the idea of writing a memoir during her studies in Master’s research when she decided to have a long discussion with her parents about the challenges and difficulties their childhood had thrust upon them. However, instead of traditional written work, Bui decided to draw a comic style book, inspired by the likes of Art Spiegelman's Maus.
The memoir was extremely well received, with Publishers Weekly saying, "Bui transmutes the base metal of war into gold...". the book further made it onto The Washington Post's "The 10 Best Graphic Novels of 2017" and Bill Gates' "5 Amazing Books I Read This Year." Despite being optioned for film rights, Bui has rejected all overs for a film adaptation as she is critical of Vietnamese-American representations in cinematic production.
