More than a quarter of a century has passed since the first Southeast Asian refugees arrived in this country, but because of their age and formidable language barriers, many elders have difficulty making their voices heard. Language barriers, family privacy, and social isolation have made it almost impossible for their experiences to be shared outside the family and community. Elder Voices helps to understand the family life of Vietnamese, Cambodian, Lao, and Hmong refugees from the perspective of the oldest generation. Their stories are composed of complex family narratives that help us...

Forty life histories of Southeast Asian elders are gathered in this volume. Collectively they reveal insider personal perspectives on new immigrant family adaptation to American life at the end of the 20th century.