Singing with Roots - Khanh Ly's Portrait" is composed from the script of the multi-episode musical documentary film of the same name belonging to the Viet Legacy Development project – Vietnam Heritage Development. The book is published by Vietnam Women's Publishing House and Doi Canh Media Company; Dr. Bui Quang Ngoc - project director.
Singing with Roots - Khanh Ly's Portrait" is the only publication that fully depicts the 81 years of singer Khanh Ly's life. This is not a memoir, not exactly an autobiography, but memories, portraits and anecdotes recounted with the mindset of a person who has gone through almost a century of history.
The book is divided into 8 chapters. Not only is it the life story of a legendary female singer, "Singing with the Roots" is also a historical cross-section of a period that was both romantic and painful, a journey to preserve the common memory of Vietnamese music.
Through Khanh Ly's singing and Trinh Cong Son's music, affirming the power of art in touching conscience, nurturing compassion and the desire for peace.
I don't expect people to recognize that what I say is true. I just want to say things that I may never have the opportunity to say again" - Khanh Ly said.
Speaking more about Trinh Cong Son's music, the female singer admitted that she herself, when young, could not fully understand his lyrics because she did not have enough experience to understand deeply. But when experiencing many upheavals in life, she felt even more deeply and deeply the lyrics of the talented musician.
At the age of 81, singer Khanh Ly chose to complete the book as a thank you to Life - thank you to People and thank you to Roots. "The book is like film footage, it is a way for me to preserve nostalgia and want to find myself again" - singer Khanh Ly said.
According to the editor-in-chief and the author of the book - businessman, singer Quang Thanh, the special point of the work is that it is the first time to publish many handwriting between Khanh Ly and Trinh Cong Son. Besides, it will reveal images and stories about her father - an important piece that explains the root cause of her musical attachment; and there are nearly 100 portraits of characters converging in the same book...
A documentary film of the same name was also released in parallel with the book and this is also a large-scale and long-term cultural project with a journey back to memories, homeland, love and to oneself.
