Fourth Uncle in the Mountain The Remarkable Legacy of a Buddhist Itinerant Doctor in Vietnam

Set during the French and American wars in South Vietnam, Fourth Uncle in the Mountain is the true story of an orphan, Quang Van Nguyen, adopted by a sixty-four-year-old monk, Thau, who carries great responsibility for his people as a barefoot doctor. Thau manages against all odds to raise his son to follow in his footsteps and in doing so saves him, as well as a part of Vietnam's esoteric knowledge from the Vietnam holocaust. Thau is wanted by the French regime and occasionally must flee in to the jungle, where he is perfectly at home living among the animals. As wise and resourceful as Thau is, he meets his match in his mischievous son. Quang is more interested in learning Cambodian sorcery and martial arts than in developing his skills and wisdom according to his father's plan. Fourth Uncle in the Mountain is an odyssey of a single-father folk hero and his foundling son in a land ravaged by the atrocities of war. It is a classic story complete with humor, tragedy, and insight, from a country where ghosts and magic are real.

Quang Van Nguyen is the son of one of South Vietnam’s most beloved spiritual masters, Thau Van Nguyen.  Quang became a Buddhist abbot before fleeing Vietnam in 1987.  He now lives in the United States.
 
Marjorie Pivar has worked for the past twenty years as a Shiatsu therapist in the field of alternative medicine.  She lives in Vermont.