A young Vietnamese woman, who almost killed herself after losing the love of her life, travelled alone across the US hoping it would be cathartic, and the result is Qua Tre De Chet – Hanh Trinh Nuoc My (Too Young to Die – American Journey), an autobiography released this week.

Two years ago, journalist and communications specialist Dinh Hang, 26, decided to travel east to west through 20 states in the continent-sized country.

"The six-month trip was not only to discover the world, but also for the author to find herself: the love for herself and her life which she once lost," a release from the publisher Nha Nam Cultural and Communication JSC says.

The book starts with the great hurt from the broken love which almost saw the author jump in front of a train.

"A big journey is for people who really want to grow up," the release adds.

For Hang, back-packing offers a different life, one in which she does not face the stress of an eight-hour working day but has to rush not to miss a flight or bus, does not need to clean her house but has to sleep at odd places like airports, bus stops and in the houses of people she had just met.

She said she would donate all the proceeds from the sales of the book to treat chronic kidney failure patients at the Thu Duc District Hospital in HCM City.

VNS