Huping Ling is the author of a new book, Voices of the Heart: Asian American Women on Immigration, Work, and Family, published by Truman State University Press. It is the first comprehensive and comparative record of the oral histories of American women of Asian ancestry living in the Midwest.
Ling includes interviews with 55 Asian American women who tell about their journey to America. They talk about their hope for survival, education, employment, and preserving their cultural identity while assimilating into American society. These vivid, authentic personal stories reveal the women’s heartfelt experiences and the significant role they have played in Asian American history.
Voices of the Heart includes Chinese, Japanese, Filipina, Korean, and Asian Indian women as well as the newer Asian groups of Vietnamese, Laotians, Hmong, Thais, and Pakistanis.
Valuable for researchers, students, and scholars in Asian American and women’s studies, this book will also appeal to those interested in the Midwest, international trade, international relations, and multiculturalism.
Huping Ling has interviewed a delightful mix of distinctive Asian American women and provided us with their valuable back stories. As the heartland changes so does our country. These are new Americans we need to meet.
—Jack Tchen, New York University
