The book is written about real life stories.

“Towards a Peaceful Horizon - Stories of Women Surviving Domestic Violence, Abuse and Human Trafficking” is a book that retells the life stories of twelve women who lived at Peace House (NNBY). The book is edited by the Center for Women and Development, Vietnam Women’s Publishing House and was released in December 2023.

In the introduction of the book, the editor shared: “Within the pages of this book, you will encounter the stories of twelve women, each embarking on a journey out of the dark abyss of pain, towards a brighter, peaceful, and serene existence. They are among the 12 individuals out of the 1,665 lives that have come to the Peace House Shelter over the past 16 years. They were chosen to share their stories not because their cases were exceptional (as each of the 1,665 stories is unique in its own way), but because they themselves chose to speak up about their life journeys, with the hope of spreading belief and hope to other women: that life still holds many beautiful things and that we have the right to lie genuinely happy lives.”

The stories in the book are all true stories, some especially cruel details have been omitted but still ensures authenticity. The real names of people and places have been changed to assure safety for the people sharing their stories. The informants have however provided their consent with sharing their stories with the public.

The book launch ceremony was full of emotions

Book launch seminar “Towards a Peaceful Horizon”

During the discussion about the process of creating the book, Ms. P.N.L, one of the women mentioned in the book, shared: “Before finding NNBY, I had to suffer for 18 years. It felt like my fate was already decided and I couldn’t change it. I sought support without success and accepted that it was my life. But NNBY is the place where my mother and I were reborn. In the past, I used to think that it would be difficult for my daughter to pursue her education because she had an incomplete memory of her family. But when I came to NNBY, I overcame all difficulties and graduated from university with excellent results and went to work. I feel extremely happy with my current life, and in addition, I no longer feel embarrassed when mentioning the issue of domestic violence like before.”.

Ms. Trương Thị Ngọc Lan, main editor of the book, emotionally recalled the interviews: “For me, this is truly a very special manuscript. During the interview process, I saw that NNBY officers are very close and careful, they always know how to protect their clients because recalling the past can damage the individual’s spirit. Although the twelve mentioned stories are dark, they have found a peaceful shore, so when designing the book cover, we highlighted the image of a rising cactus symbolising strength and perseverance. Combined with the bright pink color, the reader will not feel too negative or harsh when only looking at hidden corners, but towards the peaceful light horizon. And that is the main spirit of this book.”

The book launch event “Towards a Peaceful Horizon” took place successfully with the participation of  domestic actors and singers.

At the book launch “Towards a Peaceful Horizon”, the Center for Women and Development and Women’s Publishing House announced that each sold book will contribute 60,000VND to support women and children temporarily staying at Peace House. Right now, readers can buy books to support Peace House at https://www.facebook.com/CWD.VN.

Peace House’s 24/7 support hotline: 1900 96 96 80

Address: 4th Floor, Building B, Center for Women and Development, 20 Thuỵ Khuê, Tây Hồ, Hà Nội. 

Website: www.cwd.vn

Fanpage: https://www.facebook.com/CWD.VN or https://facebook.com/NgoiNhaBinhYenVietnam

Email: cwd@cwd.vn or phongtuvan.cwd@gmail.com