ONE BOOK NORTHLAND COMMUNITY EVENT GUIDE
Where Rivers Part: A Story of My Mother’s Life
Born in 1961 in war-torn Laos, Tswb’s (Chu’s) childhood is marked by the violence of the United States’ Secret War and the CIA recruitment of the Hmong and other ethnic minorities into the lost cause of the Vietnam War. Fearing for their lives, Tswb and her family leave everything they know behind and flee for the jungle.
Tswb crosses paths with her eventual husband, Npis (Bee) and joins him at a refugee camp. To do so, Tswb must leave her own mother behind, a choice that will haunt her the rest of her life. While at the camp, Tswb becomes a mother herself, raising her daughters in a state of constant fear and hunger until they are able to emigrate to the United States. Once safely in the US, the determined couple enroll in high school at nearly 30 years old and work grueling jobs to provide for their children.
Decades later, Kao Kalia Yang chronicles her mother’s astonishing saga with tenderness and clarity. Tswb’s personal experience with war and survival is wholly unique and yet offers readers a crucial reminder of the endurance and grit required of all refugees in order to make a new life for themselves. “Haunting and painfully relevant” (Booklist), Where Rivers Part is destined to become a classic.
Visit your local library or bookstore for copies of the book to check out or purchase!
Author Talk with Kao Kalia Yang
Wednesday, April 23 • 6:30-8:00 pm
University of Minnesota Duluth, Bohannon Hall
Welcome to One Book Northland 2025!
This year’s selection is both timely and relevant. The One Book committee hopes a community-wide read of Where Rivers Part will foster connection and deep conversation about recent world history, family ties, and what it means to bravely make the hard decisions needed to leave the only home you have known in the pursuit of safety and opportunity.
Unless noted, all events listed in this guide are free of charge and open to the community, regardless of institutional affiliation. Check your local library or bookseller for digital and physical copies to check out or purchase.
Cloquet Public Library (CPL)
320 14th St. • 218-879-1531
cloquetlibrary.org
Between the Lines Book Club Discussion
Join our community conversation on Where Rivers Part. All are welcome!
Tuesday, March 25 3:30-4:30 pm
CPL Northwoods Meeting Room BC
Cloquet Public Library Book Club & Discussion
Join our community conversation on Where Rivers Part with guest speaker, Pakou Ly, a Hmong-American of Duluth. All are welcome!
Thursday, April 10 6:30-8:30 pm
CPL Hemingway Conference Room
Cooking Around the World from the Library Kitchen: Making Hmong Egg Rolls
Pajkou Xiong will guide us in making (and tasting!) Hmong egg rolls together in the library kitchen. Registration is required—call 218-8791531 or stop by to reserve your spot.
Friday, April 11 5:30-7:00 pm
CPL Northwoods Meeting Room BC
Learn how to make Hmongstyle egg rolls! Registration is required—call or stop by Cloquet Public Library to reserve your spot.
Duluth Public Library (DPL)
520 W. Superior St. • 218-730-4200 duluthlibrary.org
Hmong Cultural Display
Visit the Local History Center at Duluth Public Library to see a Hmong tapestry and other important cultural pieces.
On Display: April 1—April 30
DPL Local History Center, 2nd Floor
Storytime and Dragon Dance Performance
All ages are welcome at this special storytime, featuring a dragon dance performance by Hmong-American, multimedia artist Alivia Lor. We will also read one of Kao Kalia Yang’s books for children. Geared for kids; all are welcome.
Saturday, April 5 10:30-11:00 am
DPL Green Room
Hmong-American, multimedia artist Alivia Lor will share a Dragon Dance performance at Storytime.
Community Read Book Discussion
Join our community conversation on the themes and impact of Where Rivers Part. All are welcome! Saturday, April 5 1:00-3:00 pm
DPL Green Room
Superior Public Library (SPL)
1530 Tower Ave. • 715-394-8860
superiorlibrary.org
One Book Northland Book Discussion
All are invited to participate in a discussion of the book Where Rivers Part. The book discussion will take place both in person at the library as well as online. For more information and to receive the virtual meeting link, please send an email to mehlel@superiorlibrary.org.
Thursday, April 3 6:00-7:00 pm
SPL Conference Room
Two Harbors Public Library (THPL)
320 Waterfront Dr. • 218-834-3148
twoharborspubliclibrary.org
Book Discussion
Join us in community conversation surrounding Where Rivers Part. Limited copies available at the front desk starting 3/1, thanks to the generosity of the Friends of the Two Harbors Public LIbrary. Tuesday, April 1 5:30-6:30 pm
THPL Meeting Room
Walk and Talk Book Discussion
Join us on a gentle walk (or roll) and book talk, from Two Harbors Public Library to Agate Bay. The path is 1.5 miles round-trip on mostly flat terrain. Please meet on the library patio. Alternate weather location: library meeting room. Monday, April 21 12:00-1:00 pm
THPL Patio/Meeting Room
University of Wisconsin-Superior
Jim Dan Hill Library
Belknap St. & Catlin Ave. uwsuper.edu
Campus Book Club
Join a weekly book club for faculty, staff, and students, every Wednesday in April.
April 2, 16, 30 12:00-1:00 pm
Microsoft Teams
University of Minnesota Duluth
Kathryn A. Martin Library
Office of Diversity and Inclusion
1049 University Dr. d.umn.edu
Hmong Living in Unity and Balance (HLUB)
Annual Hmong Heritage Night
Los Hais Hmoob Ua Ke: Come Say Hmong Together! The evening includes food, storytelling, and music. Early Bird Tickets: $10 each, two for $15. After March 9, tickets will be $12 each, two for $20. For more information and to reserve tickets, contact odi@d.umn.edu.
Saturday, March 29 5:00-8:00 pm
UMD Kirby Ballroom
Book Discussion for Students
Thursday, April 17 2:00-3:00 pm
UMD Kirby Student Center, Room 268
Book Discussion for Faculty, Staff, & Students
Tuesday, April 22 2:00-3:00 pm
UMD Kathryn A. Martin Library, Room 260
Author Talk & Book Signing with Kao Kalia Yang
Come to the UMD campus (Bohannon Hall, Room 90) and meet this year’s One Book Northland author, Kao Kalia Yang. Kalia is a Hmong-American teacher, speaker, and writer with works that appeal to all ages and audiences. She will be sharing about her book Where Rivers Part, then will be signing books after the lecture. Copies of the book will be available for purchase at this event.
Wednesday, April 23 6:30-8:00 pm
UMD Bohannon Hall, Room 90
About Kao Kalia Yang
Kalia was born in a refugee camp in Thailand and came to the United States at the age of six. She is the author of The Latehomecomer, The Song Poet, Yang Warriors, and most recently, Where Rivers Part. Yang also coedited What God Is Honored Here? and is the author of a collective memoir about refugee lives called Somewhere in the Unknown World. Learn more at KaoKaliaYang.com.
From the Book:
Dear Reader,
I know Tswb as her daughter. I know my mother by the light touch of her hands and the straight edge of her voice. I know her as a woman who has lived her life yearning for things she’ll never have. Who, though she cries sometimes, is ready to laugh when a spark of humor flies in her direction. I know the aches in her body, the pains in her hands, and some of the heart injuries she has sustained in loving and living her life with us.
My mom is afraid that no one will be interested in a story about her life. She and my father tell me that just because they have lived hard lives does not mean they are incredible; they both remind me that the hardness in their lives is nothing more than the sorrow they share with those who have been through wars, who know poverty, who understand what it is like to live without power or belonging on your side. My mom is afraid that I have wasted my time in writing the story of her life.
Her fears are not mine [...] because I have been blessed to be born as her daughter. I know what courage looks like because of my mother. I have become a writer for a people that is new to the written word because of the lessons I’ve learned watching her live a life that is not fair or just, a life that has been forged by forces beyond her control. The war machines. The assembly lines. Race and class. Gender and language. Love and lovelessness. I’m proud of my mother’s life, and I’ve no questions about its worth to me or the world that we live in.
My chin is high as I present you with Where Rivers Part; it is a story of my mother’s life. I’m excited for you to get to know Tswb Muas, and to learn about the world we live in through her experiences and her heart.
Sincerely,
Kao Kalia Yang, St. Paul, MN July 6, 2023 The One Book Northland committee: representatives from the community, Arrowhead Library System, Cloquet Public Library, Duluth Public LIbrary, Superior Public Library, Two Harbors Public Library, Barnes & Noble, The Bookstore at Fitger’s, Zenith Bookstore, University of Minnesota Duluth, and University of Wisconsin-Superior.
