The University of Tennessee Press notes:
“Fifty years on from the Vietnam War, it can be easy to overlook the civilian lives that were forever changed by this endlessly debated global conflict. In Land of Dreams: An Immigrant’s Journey from War-Torn Vietnam to America, author C. L. Hoang recalls memories of how the war dramatically affected his own life and the lives of his family.
Spanning two continents and more than ten years, Hoang’s journey begins with his childhood in Saigon, South Vietnam, in the 1960s and continues as he crosses the Pacific Ocean to study in the US in 1974. When Saigon fell to the Communists of North Vietnam just six months later, he found himself cut off from his family in a new and vastly different country. Struggling to adapt and survive while hanging on to his college dreams, Hoang embarked on a quest to reunite with his family as they risked life and limb to escape from the communist regime.
Having lived through the Vietnam War and come to America young enough to absorb its culture as his own, Hoang offers a unique, human-scale perspective on the aftermath of one of the most significant conflicts in living memory. Land of Dreams is a meditation on what it means to lose one’s home and find another, and on how the echoes of war continue to shape the lives of those who survive such conflicts. By sharing his own story, Hoang also bears witness to the struggle and resilience of his fellow Vietnamese immigrants as well as countless other immigrants and refugees.”
Advance Praise for “Land of Dreams”
“C. L. Hoang’s memoir could not have come to us at a more crucial moment in American history. We live in a time of deeply misguided impulses in so many inborn Americans who still are desperately trying to find their own personal identities and thus are being politically exploited by the false specter of otherness in their fellow aspiring Americans. Hoang’s eloquent and compassionate tale of his and his family’s harrowing exile from the war in Vietnam and their brave passage to new identities in this country contains a multitude of lessons for all of us. Land of Dreams is not just a moving and beautifully written book, it is a truly important book.”
―Robert Olen Butler, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain and Perfume River
“Now more than ever, we need stories like this one, which show just how richly our country benefits when we welcome those in urgent need of refuge and a chance to prosper. With verve, wit, and an open heart, C. L. Hoang tells a tale that speaks not only to the rewards of sacrifice and perseverance but to family loyalty and the pioneering spirit embodied by the earliest Americans. I was moved and inspired.”
―Julia Glass, National Book Award–winning author of Three Junes and Vigil Harbor
“Written in vivid prose, this relatable account compellingly traces the author’s transformation from child of war to productive citizen in a foreign land. This enlightening story is as much about being Vietnamese as it is about becoming American.”
―Pierre Asselin, Professor of History – Dwight E. Stanford Chair in US Foreign Relations, San Diego State University
“C. L. Hoang came to the United States as a young foreign student filled with hope and aspiration and sustained by the knowledge that his country and his family were always there, waiting for him—only to lose his country when the Republic of Việt Nam fell in April of 1975, and to be subsequently cut off from his close-knit family. This exceptionally well-written memoir limns the way he built a meaningful and successful life in this country. It is in that way a quintessential American success story: fueled by the author’s drive to be his best self, and enabled by his love for and devotion to a family separated by war, his need to shine in their eyes and to be re-united with them. His story touched me deeply both as a saga of the obstacles he overcame but also in the way it reveals the open-hearted generosity of the many Americans who opened their hearts to him. It is a reminder both of what is best in this country, and of the gifts that those who have come here as immigrants or as refugees have given to all of us.”
―Wayne Karlin, author, winner of the Vietnam Veterans of America Excellence in the Arts Award
“In Land of Dreams, C. L. Hoang gives us a moving account of exile, loss, and renewal. His voice is honest and clear, capturing both the pain of displacement and the triumph of starting anew. As someone who has walked a similar path, I recognize the truth in every page. This is a powerful and inspiring book, one that will stay with you long after you close it.”
―Abdi Nor Iftin, author of Call Me American: A Memoir
“A beautifully crafted immigration narrative and a moving testimony to the promise of this land, where dreams are realized and welcoming arms are extended.”
―Apple An, award-winning professor and author of Las Crosses, Mother of Red Mountains, and Daughter of Blue City
“This powerful memoir by C. L. Hoang chronicles his family’s harrowing escape from Vietnam and their remarkable journey to America as they grappled with echoes of the past while embracing the possibilities of the future. This is a triumphal story of courage, loss, and the enduring human spirit.”
―Robert Brigham, Shirley Ecker Boskey Professor of History and International Relations, Vassar College
“C. L. Hoang’s marvelous memoir of his life and actions after fleeing war-ravaged Vietnam is a personal account that also serves as an important historical document. His determination to succeed is readily apparent, as evidenced by the many sacrifices he made to gain an education here in America while at the same time worrying for his parents and siblings still at home. Over time, they, too, would brave the treacherous path of escape from Vietnam and resettlement in America. Hoang’s gift of recall offers the reader a startling insight into the background of U.S. policy toward refuges in general, revealing an atmosphere that was both welcoming and tolerant of the numerous arrivals to our shores. In addition, his memoir provides a much needed reminder of the turmoil caused by Communists determined to, in effect, rule the world. Fortunately, the narrative is a product of a person who not only lived through those tumultuous times, but is also blessed with the God-given talent to express his memories with affection and clarity, as well as astonishing depth.”
―Thomas J. Ryan, retired Department of Defense official with Vietnam service, author of Spies, Scouts, and Secrets in the Gettysburg Campaign, winner of the Bachelder-Coddington Literary Award and the Gettysburg Civil War Round Table Distinguished Book Award
“Land of Dreams is a wonderful detailed memoir that traces the travails of a Vietnamese family struggling with the obstacles and challenges of adapting to life in their new adopted country. Their quest to bring the family together included two harrowing escapes with the nightmares encountered by many boat people. The story is filled with uplifting anecdotes about kindhearted everyday folks lending a helping hand along the way. Blessed and fortunate, the eventual outcome for this family was a testament that human kindness, hope, and perseverance would be rewarded in the end.”
―Peter Caldwell, M.D., author of Bac-Si: A Doctor Remembers Vietnam, Up to Speed on Viet-Nam, and Quest: An Adoptee’s Search