What topic is addressed in the memoir The Best We Could Do?

There are several topics addressed at length in the memoir: parenting, family, immigration, and war are all discussed in Thi Bui's graphic memoir.
Parenting and family are some of the guiding topics in the memoir. It opens with Bui giving birth to her son as her mother waits outside the room for the birth to be over. Though her mother had flown from California to be with them, she couldn't stomach being in the same room during the difficult delivery. Bui learns more about being a mother and about the security provided by her family throughout the memoir.
War is another focal point of the story. Bui's parents live turbulent lives in Vietnam and even have to flee violence at times. Her father grew up being raised by his grandparents because his father left to be a member of the Viet Minh. During that time in Vietnam, there was both French and Japanese occupation, which added another element of uncertainty and danger to their lives. After her parents married, Vietnam began a civil war. It wasn't until after the war that Bui, her parents, and her siblings all left Vietnam and came to America by way of Malaysia.
Their immigration and the process of learning to live in a new culture and how to get along in that culture are charted as Bui recounts her parents' attempts to find work (since they weren't able to be teachers with their education from Vietnam). They had to take minimum wage jobs to support their children. As a new parent, Bui is able to have a better understanding of what and why they sacrificed for their children.