The Latehomecomer by Kao Kalia Yang

This is a Hmong family memoir. I learned a lot about these people who don't have a country to call their own. It's very well written by the second born child of the last born child of the Yang family.

"When the Americans left Laos in 1975, they took the most influential, the biggest believers and fighters for democracy with them, and they left my family and thousands of others behind to wait for a fight that would end for so many in death. A third of the Hmong died in the war with the Americans. Another third were slaughtered in it's aftermath." The communist government who took over power of Laos in 1975 began a campaign to kill off the Hmong who believed in democracy and had fought alongside the Americans against a communist government.

Kao's family escaped into the Laotian jungle and after four years, ended up at the Mekong River in Thailand. They found a temporary home in the Ban Vinai Refugee Camp. Kao was born at this Camp in 1980. She joined an older sister, Dawb. They lived at this Camp for a little over six years and then moved to the Phanat Nikhom Transition Camp to America, where they spent six months preparing to move to America. Thailand wanted to close all of their refugee camps.

Kao's family, along with some of her uncles & aunts and their families, arrived in the US in 1987. Kao's family moved to Minnesota. Kao's beloved grandmother (Youa Lee) moved to California and lived with one of her older sons. Kao was deeply affected by this separation from her grandmother, arguably the most important person in her life. The transition to America was a long and difficult one. The younger generation learned to speak English in school, but Kao's parents and many of her uncles & aunts did not. They were dependent on their children for communication with those outside the family. The entire Yang family ended up in America. By the time this book was written, there were 350 Yang family members, the majority of them living in Minnesota. Kao's own parents (Bee Yang & Chue Moua), who miscarried several babies at the Refugee Camp in Thailand, ended up having five more children in Minnesota.

Kao shares her family's journey and it's hardships (and blessings), but also the Hmong culture, folklore and traditions that are so important to the Laotians. This is a well-written memoir and I learned a lot from it.

Wendy's Rating: *****