Where Rivers Part - by Kao Kalia Yang

About the Book

"In the 1960s when Kalia's mother, Chue, was born, the US was actively recruiting Hmong Laotians to assist with CIA efforts in Laos's Secret War. By the time Chue was a teenager, the US had completely vacated Laos, and the country erupted into genocidal attacks on the Hmong people, who were perceived as traitorous for their involvement. Notably, from 1964-1973, Laos became victim to the heaviest bombardment by the United States against communist Pathet Lao, becoming the most heavily bombed country in history. Fearing vengeful soldiers looking to take their lives, Chue and her family quickly fled their village for the jungle, leaving all that they knew behind. Perpetually on the run, the family was often on the brink of starvation, and death loomed. During this tumultuous period, Chue met her husband, Bee, and unwittingly left her mother behind forever when she escaped to a refugee camp with his family, a mistake she would regret for the rest of her life. There, Chue, Bee, and their daughters lived in a state of constant fear and hunger until they finally made it to America. The determined couple enrolled in high school classes despite being in their late twenties and worked grueling factory jobs to provide for their family, yet most who meet Chue know nothing of her extraordinary resilience and traumatic past. In Where Rivers Part, told from her mother's point of view, Kao Kalia Yang unveils her mother's epic struggle towards safety and the important undocumented history of a time and place most US readers know nothing about, offering insight into America's Secret War in Laos with tenderness and unvarnished clarity. In doing so, she excavates the plight of many refugees, who suffer silently and are often overlooked as one of the essential foundations of this country. For readers of The Wild Swans by Jung Chang, The Spirit Catches You When You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman, and those who flock to stories about survival during wartime, Where Rivers Part is not only a personal account of resilience and survival but also a powerful and transporting look into Laos's Secret War and the lived experiences of the Hmong people"--

Book Synopsis

This powerful memoir about a Hmong family's epic journey to safety is a profound "testament to the miraculous strength of women and the indomitable resolve of the human spirit" (Cristina Henríquez, author of The Book of Unknown Americans).

Born in 1961 in war-torn Laos, Tswb's childhood was marked by the violence of America's Secret War and the CIA recruitment of the Hmong and other ethnic minorities into the lost cause. By the time Tswb was a teenager, the US had completely vacated Laos, and the country erupted into genocidal attacks on the Hmong people, who were labeled as traitors. Fearing for their lives, Tswb and her family left everything they knew behind and fled their village for the jungle.

Perpetually on the run and on the brink of starvation, Tswb eventually crossed paths with the man who would become her future husband. Leaving her own mother behind, she joined his family at a refugee camp, a choice that would haunt her for the rest of her life. Eventually becoming a mother herself, Tswb raised her daughters in a state of constant fear and hunger until they were able to emigrate to the US, where the determined couple enrolled in high school even though they were both nearly thirty and worked grueling jobs to provide for their children.

Now, her daughter, Kao Kalia Yang, reveals her mother's astonishing saga with tenderness and clarity, giving voice to the countless resilient refugees who are often overlooked as one of the essential foundations of this country. "Haunting and painfully relevant" (Booklist), Where Rivers Part is destined to become a classic.

Review Quotes

"Where Rivers Part confirms Kao Kalia Yang's position as not only the most important figure in Hmong American literature but one of the most interesting memoirists at work today." --Anne Fadiman, author of The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down

"Compassionate, lyrical, tender, and insightful." --Kirkus

"Haunting and painfully relevant, Where Rivers Part continues this writer's powerful family story." --Booklist

"Kao Kalia Yang's account of her mother's survival against a backdrop of unspeakable violence is told in moving, lyrical language that I could not draw my eye away from. Where Rivers Part is a cherishing of a story and a community that has often been rendered silent, a love story in more ways than I can count, and an immense and important addition to the world's literature." --Vanessa Chan, author of The Storm We Made

"Kao Kalia Yang's retelling of her mother's life is so many things: haunting, moving, riveting, powerful. It is a testament to the miraculous strength of women and the indomitable resolve of the human spirit. But above everything, Where Rivers Part--a story of unshakable love--is itself an extraordinary act of love in return." --Cristina Henríquez, author of The Book of Unknown Americans

"There are moments of poignant beauty. There are also humiliations. Tswb is small and brown; her English is not good. In America, she is eas­ily overlooked. In this exceptional book, Yang shows what a mistake it is to underestimate her: 'I wanted to claim the legacy of the woman I come from, the women who had to define for themselves what it meant to live in a world where luck was not on your side.' She has done so with deep feeling and grace." --BookPage (starred review)

"Yang foregoes third-person narration in favor of her mother's first-person voice. This gives the book immediacy, authenticity and humor ... In her daughter's exceptional book, Tswb shines in the lead role." --Star Tribune

"Yang keeps readers as close as possible to Tswb's perspective, treating her history and hardships with care. Where Rivers Part is a sensitive, unforgettable account of one mother's immeasurable strength and love for her family." --Esquire

"Yang writes much of the account from Tswb's perspective, giving tender voice to her struggles with the competing demands of family duty and personal fulfillment. The results are illuminating, uplifting, and difficult to forget." --Publishers Weekly

"Yang's memoirs of Hmong life, traditions and displacement are not just powerful additions to the canon of immigrant literature -- they are powerful books about life itself." --San Francisco Chronicle

About the Author

Kao Kalia Yang was born in a refugee camp in Thailand and came to America at the age of six. She is the author of The Latehomecomer, The Song Poet, Yang Warriors, and most recently, Where Rivers Part. She also coedited What God Is Honored Here? and is the author of a collective memoir about refugee lives called Somewhere in the Unknown World. Find out more at KaoKaliaYang.com.