{"product_id":"9781597141505","title":"How Do I Begin? A Hmong American Anthology","description":"\u003cp\u003eHmong history and culture can be found in the form of oral stories, oral poetry, textile art, and music but there is no written account of Hmong life, by a Hmong hand, passed down through the centuries. As an undergraduate, Burlee Vang experienced this void when he received valuable advice from his English professor: \"Write about your people. That story has not been told. If you don't, who will?\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHow Do I Begin? is the struggle to preserve on paper the Hmong American experience. In this anthology, readers will find elaborate soul-calling ceremonies, a woman questioning the seeming tyranny of her parents and future in-laws, the temptation of gangs and drugs, and the shame and embarrassment of being different in a culture that obsessively values homogeneity. Some pieces revisit the ghosts of war. Others lament the loss of a country. Many offer glimpses into intergenerational tensions exacerbated by the differences in Hmong and American culture.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Heyday Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47036953329904,"sku":"9781597141505","price":16.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781597141505_p0.jpg?v=1763810608","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781597141505","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}