The Book

The Latehomecomer details Yang’s own family’s journey, beginning with their life in Laos during the Vietnam War and their escape into Thailand’s Ban Vinai Refugee Camp.  From there, where Yang was born, they immigrated to St. Paul when Yang was six years old.  The memoir also recounts  Yang’s own experiences with American life as she and her family found themselves newcomers in a strange land. 

“The Latehomecomer is a wonderful tribute to a culture that is an important part of our own WSU community,” says English professor Debra Cumberland, who nominated its selection.  “It is a beautifully written, lyrical work, one from which students would learn about an important part of history and about the Hmong community.”

Yang will visit WSU in October, 2009, and again during spring semester of 2010.  The Latehomecomer is published by Coffee House Press and currently available from WSU Bookstore, The Book Shelf, and other booksellers.  More information about the book is available from the author’s website, http://www.kaokaliayang.com, and from Coffee House Press at http://www.coffeehousepress.org/thelatehomecomer.asp. 

Faculty adopters should simply list the book (ISBN 978-1-56689-208-7) on their book request form through the WSU Bookstore.  For more information about the project, please contact Dr. J Paul Johnson at pjohnson@winona.edu.

Last Modified: Monday, July 27, 2009 8:57