Family Tightrope : The Changing Lives of Vietnamese Americans

In recent years the popular media have described Vietnamese Americans as the quintessential American immigrant success story, attributing their accomplishments to the values they learn in the traditional, stable, hierarchical confines of their family. Questioning the accuracy of such family portrayals, Nazli Kibria draws on in-depth interviews and participant observation with Vietnamese immigrants in Philadelphia to show how they construct their family lives in response to the social and economic challenges posed by migration and resettlement. To a surprising extent, the "traditional" family unit rarely exists, and its hierarchical organization has been greatly altered. Contents Acknowledgments CHAPTER ONE. Assimilation, Adaptation, and Immigrant Life CHAPTER TWO. The Study and the Setting CHAPTER THREE. Vietnamese Roots CHAPTER FOUR. Patchworking CHAPTER FIVE. The Family Tightrope CHAPTER SIX. Generation Gaps CHAPTER SEVEN. The Changing Contours of Vietnamese American Family Life Bibliography Index