Mai Ya's Long Journey

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Sheila Terman Cohen

Follow Mai Ya Xiong, a young Hmong woman, from her childhood in Thailand's Ban Vinai Refugee Camp to a new life in Wisconsin.

96 pages, 7 x 9, 60 b&w photos
Paperback: $12.95 | ISBN: 978-0-87020-365-7
Ebook: $9.99 | ISBN: 978-0-87020-538-5
Publication Date: 8/24/2005

Reading Level: Ages 8–14, Grades 3–8

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Description

The story of Mai Ya Xiong and her family and their journey from a refugee camp in Thailand to a new life in Madison, Wisconsin, is extraordinary. Yet their experiences are shared by many of the hundreds of thousands of Hmong people who live in the United States today and face the challenges of adjusting to American society while maintaining their Hmong culture and traditions.

Mai Ya's Long Journey follows Mai Ya Xiong from her childhood in Thailand's Ban Vinai Refugee Camp to her current home in Wisconsin. Mai Ya's parents fled Laos during the Vietnam War and were refugees in Thailand for several years before reaching the United States. But the story does not end there.

Readers will encounter the challenges Mai Ya faced in balancing her Hmong heritage and her adopted American culture as she grew into adulthood. A timeline, glossary, and discussion guide help students and other young learners explore the deeper context of the Hmong refugee experience.

Author Bio

Sheila Terman Cohen

Sheila Terman Cohen has written three biographies for young readers for the Wisconsin Historical Society Press: Mai Ya’s Long Journey, which was awarded first place in juvenile nonfiction by the Council of Wisconsin Writers and the Midwest Independent Publishers Association; Gaylord Nelson: Champion for Our Earth, recipient of the Next Generation Indie Book Award; and Sterling North and the Story of Rascal. She is also the author of Jews in Wisconsin. Cohen studied journalism at the University of Wisconsin and has written articles for newspapers in Madison, Wisconsin, where she and her husband live and raised their family.