“I fell from the clouds into my grandmother’s hands…”
- The Latehomecomer by Kao Kalia Yang
By Kao Kalia Yang
Directed by Elise Thoron | Adapted by Elise Thoron & Aurea Tomeski
Performed by Gaosong Heu
Appropriate for: elementary / middle / high school, college, and community audiences
Available for pre-recorded, remote, or live performances
The first memoir written by a Hmong-American to be published with national distribution, The Latehomecomer is Kao Kalia Yang’s tribute to her remarkable grandmother, whose spirit held her family together in their long journey from war torn Laos to the United States.
The Story
Driven to tell her family’s experience – and the history of the Hmong people – Kao Kalia Yang’s The Latehomecomer is an eloquent, firsthand account of her search for a place to call home. The story follows Yang’s journey from a quiet, reticent student struggling to speak English, to a self-empowered young woman claiming her voice to tell the untold story of her people who also worked hard to make their voices heard.
In Performance
Brought to life by Hmong actor Gaosong Heu,* this powerful, personal story is shared with intentional consideration and knowledge of the Hmong culture. This adaptation tells a universal story of immigration, through the specific lens of this ancient culture inextricably bound to the history of the war in Vietnam.
*at some performances, understudy Jasmine Vang takes on the role