The Hungry Season

A Journey of War, Love, and Survival

By: Lisa M. Hamilton

Narrated by: Lisa M. Hamilton

Length: 12 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's summary

A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice | A Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction Book of the Year

In the tradition of Katherine Boo and Tracy Kidder, The Hungry Season is a “lyrical” narrative with "real suspense" (New York Times): a nonfiction drama that “reads like the best of fiction” (Mark Arax), tracing one woman’s journey from the mist-covered mountains of Laos to the sunbaked flatlands of Fresno, California as she struggles to overcome the wounds inflicted by war and family alike​.

As combat rages across the highlands of Vietnam and Laos, a child is born. Ia Moua enters the world at the bottom of the social order, both because she is part of the Hmong minority and because she is a daughter, not a son. When, at thirteen, she is promised in marriage to a man three times her age, it appears that Ia’s future has been decided for her. But after brutal communist rule upends her life, this intrepid girl resolves to chart her own defiant path.

With ceaseless ambition and an indestructible spirit, Ia builds a new existence for herself and, before long, for her children, first in the refugee camps of Thailand and then in the industrial heartland of California’s San Joaquin Valley. At the root of her success is a simple act: growing Hmong rice, just as her ancestors did, and selling it to those who hunger for the Laos of their memories. While the booming business brings her newfound power, it also forces her to face her own past. In order to endure the present, Ia must confront all that she left behind, and somehow find a place in her heart for those who chose to leave her.

Meticulously reported over seven years and written with the intimacy of a novel, The Hungry Season is the story of one radiant woman’s quest for survival—and for the nourishment that matters most.

©2023 Lisa M. Hamilton (P)2023 Little, Brown & Company

Critic reviews

“Lyrical … Ia’s story has real suspense to it… Hamilton is a master observer, as attentive to Ia’s world as Ia is to her seedlings.”—New York Times

"The Hungry Season is a deeply reported and intricately narrated story of displacement, homelessness, and identity. Hamilton crafts an intimate, searing portrait of one marginalized woman, devastated by politics and poverty, patriarchy and tradition, wars and colonialism, and the resilient way she finds solace and strength in one thing that brings her home: rice."—Suki Kim, New York Times bestselling author of Without You, There Is No Us and The Interpreter

“The Hungry Season reads like a novel while offering an eyewitness account of Laos's history and a vivid portrayal of one remarkable life. Ia Moua’s incredible tale of survival puts our daily problems in perspective and reminds us of the resilience of the human spirit and the power of defining our own paths. A must-read."—Le Ly Hayslip, author of When Heaven and Earth Changed Places and Child of War, Woman of Peace

Deeply interesting story, beautiful narration.

Listening to this book has been an unexpected pleasure. There are so many ways an account like this can go wrong, I was hesitant to try the book -- I'm so glad I did! This is a clear, insightful account of a very compelling woman's life, told with great skill and respect, and WITHOUT melodrama or moral pronouncements. The author's calm, straightforward tone is perfect for this book. Overall, a wonderful experience.

Vivid writing, compelling story and great narration.

It will be a classic of California narrative nonfiction. Lisa M. Hamilton brings us into a world we know little about.