Saving Five: A Memoir of Hope

Amanda Nguyen's book is a two hundred page account of her escape from an abusive father, rape, and fight to pass legislation to provide rights to rape victims. She uses a fable, involving her at various ages, to discuss how she handled the stages of grief. 

[It was a good narrative device if somewhat heavy-handed. She mixes the fable with the rest of the narrative in a basic back/forth approach. It is also the source of the title.]

A particular concern is to stop the destruction of rape kits, which in Massachussetts (she was a student at Harvard) took place after six months. Nguyen was able to take a "Jane Roe" rape kit, but it would be destroyed if she didn't press charges in six months. 

She did not want to do that, since it would have opened her up to possibly years of rape investigation and trial. She did not want her career hopes (CIA and astronaut) interrupted for that. And, she feared both would deem her unsuitable in the process.

Nguyen does not provide a reason why the government wanted to destroy rape kits. There tends to be a reason for something, even if it is a bad one. Understandably, she focuses on her personal pain and stress from constantly worrying about obtaining another six-month extension. 

(For instance, for reasons of privacy, there was a policy of not sending emails. At one point, she spent $500 [in the mid-2010s] to travel to get a personal printout. OTOH, the hospital accidentally called her parents and revealed she was raped. Her abusive father, therefore, found out.)  

Still, an advocate needs to know the other side's arguments. One article, for instance, suggests it is a matter of space. The large number of rape victims, unfortunately, makes that somewhat conceivable.

Nguyen provides us with limited information about the rape, moving from before to right after. The book provides an emotional account of her going with a friend to get a rape kit and then for some reason she leaves. Nguyen is left alone with supportive staff, but they are strangers. Another friend's act of being there and cleaning the sheets is noted as very important.

She gets close to joining the CIA but decides to focus on passing what became the Survivors' Bill of Rights Act of 2016. The law was passed unanimously, which is a notable achievement. The book ends with the passage of the legislation so there is obviously much more that she accompolished since then.  

The book does not provide a full acount of her work, including as Deputy White House Liaison for U.S. Department of State. Nguyen also cautiously leave out some names, including of a senator and aide that treated her is an abusive way. 

(Is "Chad" even the aide's name? Seems like a stock villain name. Like, "really, Chad?")

The book ends with an Epilogue that she became an astronaut in 2023. The book was published in 2025. Her Wikipedia page notes her space flight ("Making Nguyen the first woman of Vietnamese heritage to fly into space") took place earlier this month. Yes, it was the one that also had Katy Perry. 

Whether or not she will access her rape kit and press charges is a decision for the future. The point is, she has kept the door open. “I’ve given myself time,” she says. “We’ve rewritten the law to give my future self that choice. I’m just so grateful I screamed and the world listened.”

The book is well written, with her fable taking up around a third. She never does bring a case against her rapist and readers might be upset about that loose thread. OTOH, that is the case with quite a few rapes. There is no grand moment of justice.

Nguyen also does not provide a full autobiography, which her Wikipedia page alone shows is more detailed than only suggested here. Simply put, it is not a complete "memoir," and a lot more can be said about her life. This is more of a limited view of some things.

One blurb is fitting: "Amanda Nguyen is a compassionate, clear-eyed guiding force" and "shows us how to reclaim the full spectrum of our lives, replete with pain, fury, creativity, and recovered dreams." A fitting narrative for the times.