But silence can lead to awful misunderstandings, and the legacies of secrets that were kept too long create much of the tension between the novel's mothers and daughters.
As well as directly saving lives, Manixia's de-mining efforts will also hopefully bring more attention to the legacies of secret wars and the resilience of Laos – a nation still indirectly under attack from Western artillery.
In between, it spans almost 50 years, taking in the miners' strike, Aids and the legacy of suppressed secrets and lies in one family over two generations.
Who will look after the family?" The legacy of the Secret War, as the American operation is now known, is clearly visible in this idyllic landscape of rolling hills and lush tropical forest.
Antje Rávic Strubel's novel Sturz der Tage in die Nacht also dealt with the former East German state, especially with the legacy of Stasi, its secret-police agency.
As well as directly saving lives, Manixia's de-mining efforts will also hopefully bring more attention to the legacies of the secret war and the resilience of Laos a nation still indirectly under attack from Western artillery.
Jeff Biggers is the author of Reckoning at Eagle Creek: The Secret Legacy of Coal in the Heartland.
Jeff Biggers is the American Book Award-winning author of Reckoning at Eagle Creek: The Secret Legacy of Coal in the Heartland Nation Books/Basic Bookss).
Jeff Biggers is the author of The United States of Appalachia, and the forthcoming, Reckoning at Eagle Creek: The Secret Legacy of Coal in the Heartland (The Nation/Basic Books).
