Hmong Family Memoir

H (o )m (e )ong

A Book Review of Kao Kalia Yang 's

The Latehomecomer (Name (Instructor (Course (Date

They teach us that we have chosen our lives . That the people who we would become we had inside of us from the beginning , and the people whose worlds we share , whose memories we hold strong inside of us , we have always known (Yang , 2008

Kao Kalia Yang 's The Latehomecomer ' is a witness to the exodus of the culturally rich ethnic group known as the Hmong . She attempts to share the

struggle , challenges and triumphs that her people , through her family , had to endure to attain peace and a stable life . The Hmong is an ethnic group who can be found in Vietnam , Thailand but mostly in Laos They are a unique group since they have no written language but their culture is rich and colorful . Just looking at their traditional dresses one can infer a people who are skilled but living a simple life , living off the land and nature . Much more than just an autobiography , it is a testament to the indomitable will of man to rise up from the tragedy of the past , the challenges of the present and the promise of the future

However , Kao Kalia Yang paints the other picture of the Hmong people . A people who are embroiled in a war then disowned , which leads to them pulling off their roots from their land and escaping to keep their culture alive . The book follows...