I felt truly honored the day Diem announced she had started her autobiography, because she was asking me to help her write it. Her story is so unusual and fascinating -- sharing the process of putting it all together was as exhilarating as a carnival ride.
I had met Diem more than ten years earlier, under the shade of a tree in a grassy park where a mockingbird sang delightfully above our heads. Diem smiled at me as she pointed up into the tree and exclaimed “Chim!” (the Vietnamese word for “bird”). That was the full extent of our first conversation. Soon, I had the good fortune to be one of the first people to help her learn English. Diem and I have stayed neighbors and close friends ever since, during which time she has told me many stories about her life in Vietnam. And I never stop wanting to hear more.
Most of this book was written by Diem, after which she handed the manuscript to me to “improve” (as she put it). I went carefully through all her words, intent on making the events of her life easier to understand, creating a smoother, simpler, and more “flowing” story. At the same time, I inserted details she’d left out, and added several more stories, all from memory of things she’d been telling me over the years.
Then it was Diem’s turn to play “editor,” and she proved surprisingly quick to point out anything I had misunderstood or not remembered correctly. Her book HAD to be accurate! It HAD to be correct! So for several months, we took turns playing writer, editor, and critic until everything was perfect -- until we had a book that was easy to read and understand: a book that was smooth and flowing, a book that was the accurate story of Diem’s unusual life.
Charlie Roberts
Walk Around the Tree
This inspiring autobiography of a war child vividly details her triumphs over every hardship, from polio in Vietnam to a love story in America
by Diem Ai Nguyen & Charlie Roberts

Walk Around the Tree
This inspiring autobiography of a war child vividly details her triumphs over every hardship, from polio in Vietnam to a love story in America
by Diem Ai Nguyen & Charlie Roberts
Published Jan 18, 2012
142 Pages
6 x 9 Black & White Paperback
Genre: BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Personal Memoirs