A true story of courage, family, and the challenges and triumphs of building a life in a new place and culture.
Mai Ya Xiong arrived in Wisconsin with her family when she was just seven years old. Born in Ban Vinai Refugee Camp in Thailand after her family fled war-torn Laos, Mai Ya knew no English, had never lived in a home with running water, and had never seen snow before. The Xiong family was part of the early wave of Hmong refugees who came to the United States from Southeast Asia in the 1980s with hopes of building new lives. Through hardship and loss, joy and perseverance, young Mai Ya navigated growing up in two worlds—maintaining Hmong traditions while learning the American way of life.
Mai Ya’s Long Journey offers young readers an inspiring and insightful window into life as a refugee and the experience of adapting to a new home, a new language, a new country, and new friends. In addition to examining Mai Ya’s school years, this updated edition of a beloved biography expands the story with Mai Ya’s journey into adulthood and parenthood, while also highlighting the celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of Hmong settlement in the United States. An afterword by Mai Ya reflects on her evolving understanding of identity, revealing how her desire to fit in as a child has transformed into a commitment to honor her heritage and pass Hmong values and customs on to her own children.
Blending biography and history, Mai Ya’s Long Journey expands the learning experience by sharing information about the Hmong language, spiritual traditions, and folklore as well as about American involvement in the Vietnam War. The book helps readers ages 8–11 understand the immigrant experience while celebrating the strength, determination, and cultural pride that continue to shape Hmong communities across the United States.

Sheila Terman Cohen is the author of several Wisconsin Historical Society Press children’s books as well as the adult title Jews in Wisconsin. She taught English as a Second Language in the Madison Metropolitan School District for twenty years. She lives in Madison, Wisconsin.
Mai Ya Xiong was born in a refugee camp in Thailand and immigrated with her family to the United States as a young child. Today, she is the chief operating officer of a dental practice in St. Paul, Minnesota, where she and her husband are raising their four children.