The Latehomecomer

A Hmong Family Memoir

By: Kao Kalia Yang

Narrated by: Kao Kalia Yang

In the 70s and 80s, thousands of Hmong families made the journey from the war-torn jungles of Laos to the overcrowded refugee camps of Thailand and onward to the United States, all in search of a new place to call home. Decades later, their experiences remain largely unknown.

Kao Kalia Yang was driven to tell her own family's story after her grandmother’s death. The Latehomecomer is a tribute to that grandmother, a remarkable woman whose spirit held her family together through their imprisonment in Laos, their narrow escape into Thailand's Ban Vinai Refugee Camp, their immigration to St. Paul when Yang was only six years old, and their transition to life in America. It is also an eloquent firsthand account of a people who have worked hard to make their voices heard in their adopted homeland.

©2008 Kao Kalia Yang (P)2011 HighBridge Company

Critic reviews

"Yang tells her family’s story with grace; she narrates their struggles, beautifully weaving in Hmong folklore and culture. By the end of this moving, unforgettable book, when Yang describes the death of her beloved grandmother, readers will delight at how intimately they have become part of this formerly strange culture." ( Publishers Weekly)

"Yang intimately chronicles the immigrant experience from the Hmong perspective, providing a long-overdue contribution to the history and literature of ethnic America." ( Booklist)

A Wonderful Sharing of a Families Journey

Thank you for sharing the immigration experience of your family and the Hmong people.

Fantastic.

Captivating story, excellently written, and wonderfully read. I found myself surprised by many experiences of Hmong people I had never before learned about and appreciated the opportunity to build perspective and empathy.

Bravo

As a Hmong woman, this book brings back memories long forgotten. I loved it.

Spirit interwoven in the details

Intimacy shared through heartfelt and detailed experiences. So much learned about this important parallel universe. A treasure delivered.

Couldn’t stop listening!

An incredible story of a family’s survival and determination through the most challenging circumstances. I learned so much that I didn’t know about Hmong history and culture! I always love memoirs read by the author.