The Latehomecomer: A Hmong Family Memoir

In search of a place to call home, thousands of Hmong families made the journey from the war-torn jungles of Laos to the overcrowded refugee camps of Thailand and onward to America. But lacking a written language of their own, the Hmong experience has been primarily recorded by others. Driven to tell her family’s story after her grandmother’s death, The Latehomecomer is Kao Kalia Yang’s tribute to the remarkable woman whose spirit held them all together. It is also an eloquent, firsthand account of a people who have worked hard to make their voices heard.

Beginning in the 1970s, as the Hmong were being massacred for their collaboration with the United States during the Vietnam War, Yang recounts the harrowing story of her family’s captivity, the daring rescue undertaken by her father and uncles, and their narrow escape into Thailand where Yang was born in the Ban Vinai Refugee Camp.

When she was six years old, Yang’s family immigrated to America, and she evocatively captures the challenges of adapting to a new place and a new language. Through her words, the dreams, wisdom, and traditions passed down from her grandmother and shared by an entire community have finally found a voice.

"Grandma looked at me and sighed a little under her breath, and then she said, 'You do not think so much about hunger if you have never been full.'"

Genre - Memoir

"He [my father] says, 'It is very important that you tell this part of our story: the Hmong came to Amrica without a homeland. Even in the very beginning, we knew that we were looking for a home. Other people, in moments of sadness and despair can look to a place in the world: where they might belong. We are not like that. I knew our that our chance was here.'"

My Thoughts

When I was still working as a teacher, I was struck by how little we understand about the Hmong people and why they are in this country. I thought that was exceptionally odd since Wisconsin and Minnesota were to of the states who received a large number of Hmong immigrants. A lot of those questions are answered in this memoir by Kao Kalia Yang. Her story is thorough, although at times I question the accuracy of her thoughts when she was a young child. I think she has done her best to fill in gaps in her memories though. At times this story did move a little slowly for me but I was moved by her story and the story of her family. I felt a connection to Kao (the character) and her grandmother and was struck by the depth of their relationship. Overall, I thought this was a strong memoir and it should be added to high school language arts curricula, especially in schools with a number of Hmong students. I gave this book 4 stars.