Portrait of Grief and Courage

A shadow in the dark corner of the room moved. Slowly, a woman walked toward us. Tears streamed down her face. She pointed toward me and spoke to May Lee in Hmong. This is what she said: 'Please give me the words to speak my grief.'When Sandra Shackelford heard this plea, she embarked on a decades-long project to preserve and dignify the loves, losses, and customs of the Hmong people who began immigrating to Green Bay, Wisconsin in the 1970s. In this unique collection of interviews, photographs, and folktales, Shackelford- along with interpreter May Lee Lor and translator Ma Lee Lor- captures the words of Hmong people who fled their homes to escape The Secret War in Laos. Many trekked through jungles without food, water, or shelter. Many lost family members along the way. All struggled to survive and sustain their traditions. Intimate and compelling, this historic collection gives words to the grief Hmong refugees carried as they resettled in America- and the courage they found to persevere.