Family in Six Tones : A Refugee Mother, an American Daughter

"A brilliant duet and a moving exploration of the American immigrant experience."--Ruth Ozeki, author of A Tale for the Time Being A dual first-person memoir by the acclaimed Vietnamese-American novelist and her thoroughly American teenage daughter In 1975, thirteen-year-old Lan Cao boarded an airplane in Saigon and got off in a world where she faced hosts she had not met before, a language she didn't speak, and food she didn't recognize, with the faint hope that she would be able to go home soon. Lan fought her way through confusion, and racism, to become a successful lawyer and novelist. Four decades later, she faced the biggest challenge in her life: raising her daughter Harlan--half Vietnamese by birth and 100 percent American teenager by inclination. In their lyrical joint memoir, told in alternating voices, mother and daughter cross ages and ethnicities to tackle the hardest questions about assimilation, aspiration, and family. Lan wrestles with her identities as not merely an immigrant but a refugee from an unpopular war. She has bigoted teachers who undermine her in the classroom and tormenting inner demons, but she does achieve--either despite or because of the work ethic and tight support of a traditional Vietnamese family struggling to get by in a small American town. Lan has ambitions, for herself, and for her daughter, but even as an adult feels tentative about her place in her adoptive country, and ventures through motherhood as if it is a foreign landscape. Reflecting and refracting her mother's narrative, Harlan fiercely describes the rites of passage of childhood and adolescence, filtered through the aftereffects of her family's history of war, tragedy, and migration. Harlan's struggle to make friends in high school challenges her mother to step back and let her daughter find her own way. Family in Six Tones speaks both to the unique struggles of refugees and to the universal tug-of-war between mothers and daughters. The journey of an immigrant--away from war and loss toward peace and a new life--and the journey of a mother raising a child to be secure and happy are both steep paths filled with detours and stumbling blocks. Through explosive fights and painful setbacks, mother and daughter search for a way to accept the past and face the future together. After More Than Forty Years In The United States, Lan Cao Still Feels Tentative About Her Place In Her Adoptive Country, One Which She Came To As A Thirteen-year Old Refugee. And After Sixteen Years Of Being A Mother, She Still Ventures Through Motherhood As If It Is A Foreign Landscape. In This Lyrical Memoir, Lan Explores These Two Defining Experiences Of Her Life With The Help Of Her Fierce, Independently-minded Daughter, Harlan Margaret Van Cao. In Chapters That Both Reflect And Refract Her Mother's Narrative, Harlan Describes The Rites Of Passage Of Childhood And Adolescence, As They Are Filtered Through The Aftereffects Of Her Family's History Of War And Migration. Lan Responds In Turn, Revealing Her Struggles To Understand Her American Daughter. In This Unique Format Of Alternating Storytelling, Their Complicated Mother-daughter Relationship Begins To Crystallize. Lan's Struggles With The Traumatic Aftermath Of War--punctuated By Emotional, Detailed Flashbacks To Her Childhood--become Operatic And Fantastical Interludes As Told By Her Daughter. Harlan's Struggle To Make Friends In High School Challenges Her Mother To Step Back And Let Her Daughter Find Her Own Way. Family In Six Tones Is At Once Special And Universal, Speaking To The Unique Struggles Of Refugees As Well As The Universal Tug-of-war Between Mothers And Daughters. The Journey Of A Refugee--away From War And Loss Towards Peace And A New Life--and The Journey Of A Mother Raising A Child--to Be Secure And Happy--are Both Steep Paths Filled With Detours And Stumbling Blocks. Through Explosive Fights And Painful Setbacks, Mother And Daughter Search For A Way To Accept The Past And Face The Future Together. "A mother-daughter memoir exploring loss, love, and healing, told in two alternating voices, from the critically acclaimed novelist and her teenage daughter"-- Provided by publisher