{"product_id":"love-in-wonderland-jeff-thungc-9798995158509","title":"Love In Wonderland: A Family's Escape from War and a Son's Search for Home","description":"\u003cb\u003eWhat does it mean to search for home ... when home has been taken from you?\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eLove in Wonderland\u003c\/i\u003e is a powerful and deeply moving memoir of survival, identity, and the quiet, enduring search for belonging. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBorn into the aftermath of the CIA Secret War in Laos, Hanh grew up in a world shaped by loss, displacement, and silence. His father is gone-claimed by a war he barely understands. His mother carries wounds she cannot speak of. And the family he depends on is held together not by comfort, but by necessity. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWhen the new communist regime marks their family for persecution, escape is no longer a choice-it is survival.\u003cbr\u003eThey flee across borders into Thailand, trading one danger for another. Inside the refugee camps, hunger becomes a constant companion. Hope feels distant. Childhood disappears early, replaced by responsibility, fear, and the quiet understanding that no one is coming to save them. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBut survival alone is not enough. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eLed by a determined stepfather willing to risk everything, the family escapes once more-this time into the unknown. What they find is a remote stretch of land they come to call \u003ci\u003e\"Wonderland\"\u003c\/i\u003e-a fragile place of temporary peace, where the soil is generous, the rivers are kind, and, for the first time in years, they can breathe without fear.\u003cbr\u003eYet even in Wonderland, life is far from simple. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThrough the eyes of a child-and the wisdom of the man he becomes-Hanh witnesses the quiet struggles that shape a family: forbidden love bound by ancient clan traditions, the invisible weight of cultural expectations, and the unspoken grief carried by those who have lost too much. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eHis older brothers walk their own paths-searching for love, meaning, and a place where they can finally belong. Some choices lead toward hope. Others lead back toward danger. And not every journey ends the same. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAs Hanh comes of age, he must begin to understand his own place in a world that has never felt stable. He inherits not land or certainty-but something far heavier: the responsibility to keep moving forward, even when the path is unclear. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThis is more than a story of escape. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIt is a story of: \u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cb\u003eFamily loyalty tested by hardship \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cb\u003eLove constrained by tradition-and transformed by sacrifice \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cb\u003eFaith, doubt, and the search for something greater \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe resilience of a people who refuse to disappear \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTold with lyrical honesty and emotional depth, \u003ci\u003eLove in Wonderland\u003c\/i\u003e offers a rare and intimate glimpse into the Iu Mien experience-where identity is shaped by ancestry, survival, and the quiet strength to endure. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAt its heart lies a universal truth: \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eSometimes, the journey is not about finding a place to return to...\u003cbr\u003eBut learning how to carry home within you wherever you are.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Jeff Thungc\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9798995158509\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Iu Mien Heritage Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 05\/23\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 176\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.46lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.50h x 5.50w x 0.41d","brand":"Jeff Thungc","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":48743254065407,"sku":"9798995158509","price":15.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/love-in-wonderland-jeff-thungc-9798995158509","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}