BOOKS & BREW: Book Discussion with Author KAO KALIA YANG

We're partnering with North Dakota Asian-American Arts and Cultural Initiative to host TWO special events with author, Kao Kalia Yang during her North Dakota tour.

Join Yang for a discussion* of her book, Where Rivers Part: A Story of My Mother's Life, in the MMPL Loft at 10 AM. Attendees will enjoy a meet and greet with the author and enjoy a selection of local coffee and treats.

*Reading the book before the event is encouraged, but not required. Copies are available from MMPL and libraries within our affiliated network.

Seats are limited, please register for this event, below!

Book Synopsis:

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.

Learn more about Kao Kalia Yang and her work here: https://kaokaliayang.com/

For younger readers, Yang will be reading her children's book, The Rock in My Throat, at 6 PM on Thursday, August 8th during CURTAIN CALL: The MMPL Summer Reading Program Closing Celebration.

These events are are brought to you with the support and partnership of Northern Plains National Heritage Area.