The Restaurants of Frogtown

2015

Left everything. Left Laos in ’78. Followed a husband following Vang Pao.

Niam, Ua Koj Tsaug Thank You, Mom

2015

People ask me, “What is Hmong?” Hmong is not just an ethnicity, but a definition of who I am. Hmong is a tradition, a culture, and a belief. Above all, being a daughter in a Hmong family is both a gift and a curse.

Advent

2013

Newly ordained, I stand in front of a brightly decorated Christmas tree. Next to me is Nhia (Jonah) Xou Yang, former CIA collaborator turned minister. We are in the shared sanctuary of our respective Hmong and American congregations in a church on Saint Paul’s North End. It is Advent 1982. Soon the peacefulness is shattered. A rock band composed of Hmong teenagers arrives, rehearsing as they do each weekday afternoon. The noise drives us from our contemplation...

Finding Home: The Journey to Saint Paul

2013

Mother said they already knew that the communist soldiers were on their way to her father’s house because he was a provincial governor, he was one of the firsts on their lists. They had many lists.