The Vietnamese Australians: Traditions, Education, Tenacity is the first book of The Vietnamese Australians series. This inaugural edition contains a collection of poems and short stories written by Minh Hien about Vietnamese traditions and about herself as a seventeen-year-old Vietnamese girl who risked her life in a small fishing boat to pursue education and thirty-eight years later while undergoing treatment for breast cancer successfully stood up for her rights against a giant public employer. It recounts the cultural activities, events, people and places that have featured in her life, illustrated with colourful photographs and paintings. It shows the influence of Vietnamese culture, historical and mythological figures, language and poetry on her actions and decisions.