Halfway heaven

diary of a Harvard murder

1st ed.
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Last edited by MARC Bot
March 8, 2023 | History

Halfway heaven

diary of a Harvard murder

1st ed.
  • 3.00 ·
  • 1 Rating
  • 1 Want to read
  • 0 Currently reading
  • 1 Have read

In May, 1995, a photograph and an anonymous note arrived at The Harvard Crimson: "Keep this picture. There will soon be a very juicy story involving this woman." Soon afterwards, Sinedu Tadesse stabbed her roommate, Trang Phuong Ho, to death, and then hanged herself.

This riveting book recounts the stories of these women, whose admission to Harvard was "halfway heaven," a bridge to the American dream after lives of hardship. Sinedu grew up under communist tyranny in Ethiopia, while Trang was born in a Vietnamese forced labor camp, and fled the country with her father and sister to end up on welfare in Boston. Despite their similarities, the two were never friends; Trang was friendly and outgoing, while Sinedu, awkward and shy, had trouble adjusting to a culture vastly different from her own. Drawing upon her astonishing diaries, New York Times bestselling author Thernstrom, a Harvard graduate herself, reconstructs Sinedu's inner life to reveal a girl struggling against isolation and depression. The book reveals Harvard as an institution ill-equipped to deal with mental illness on campus that apparently cared more for its reputation than for its student body.

A brilliant synthesis of cultural analysis, psychological study, and first-rate investigative journalism, Halfway Heaven is a haunting exploration of the power of profound loneliness and an expose of one of America's most distinguished universities.

Publish Date
Publisher
Doubleday
Language
English
Pages
219

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Previews available in: English

Edition Availability
Cover of: HALFWAY HEAVEN
HALFWAY HEAVEN
1999, Virago
Paperback
Cover of: Halfway heaven
Halfway heaven: diary of a Harvard murder
1998, Plume
in English
Cover of: Halfway heaven
Halfway heaven: diary of a Harvard murder
1997, Doubleday
in English - 1st ed.

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Book Details


Published in

New York

Edition Notes

Includes bibliographical references (p. [221]).

Classifications

Dewey Decimal Class
364.15/23/097444
Library of Congress
HV6533.M4 T48 1997, HV6533.M4T48 1997

The Physical Object

Pagination
219, [6] p. :
Number of pages
219

ID Numbers

Open Library
OL662780M
Internet Archive
halfwayheavendia00ther
ISBN 10
0385487452
LCCN
97008278
OCLC/WorldCat
36621743
Library Thing
775575
Goodreads
594409

Work Description

In May 1995, a photograph and an anonymous note arrived at The Harvard Crimson that said "Keep this picture. There will soon be a very juicy story involving this woman." Soon afterwards, Sinedu Tadesse stabbed to death her roommate, Trang Phuong Ho, and then hung herself. This book recounts the stories of these women, whose admission to Harvard was "halfway heaven," a bridge to the American dream after lives of hardship. But they met instead with the darkest of all fates: a tragedy that might have been prevented. Sinedu grew up under communist tyranny in Ethiopia. Trang was born in a Vietnamese forced labor camp, and fled the country with her father and sister to end up on welfare in Boston. Despite their similarities, the two were never friends; Trang was friendly and outgoing, while Sinedu, awkward and shy, had trouble adjusting to a culture vastly different from her own. Drawing upon her astonishing diaries, Thernstrom, a Harvard graduate herself, reconstructs Sinedu's inner life to reveal a girl struggling against isolation and depression. The book reveals Harvard as an institution ill-equipped to deal with mental illness on campus that apparently cared more for its reputation than for its student body. A brilliant synthesis of cultural analysis, psychological study, and first-rate investigative journalism, Halfway Heaven is a haunting exploration of the power of profound loneliness and an expose of one of America's most distinguished universities.

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History

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March 8, 2023 Edited by MARC Bot import existing book
January 15, 2023 Edited by ImportBot import existing book
November 18, 2022 Edited by ImportBot import existing book
January 24, 2021 Edited by ImportBot import existing book
April 1, 2008 Created by an anonymous user Imported from Scriblio MARC record.