Birth
- Although Lia Lee is born in America, her dad Nao Kao and mom Foua were born in Laos, a small country in Southeast Asia.
- So here's the background. Back in the homeland, Nao Kao and Foua (oh and don't forget about twelve of Lia's siblings) lived in a small house "that [Nao Kao] had built from ax-hewn planks thatched with bamboo and grass" (1.1). Sounds luxurious.
- In 1973, 150,000 members of the Hmong ethnicity—the Lees included—were forced from their homes after "their country fell to communist forces" (1.5). They haven't been back since.
- Lia's older sister, Mai, is born in Thailand during this exodus. Lia, on the other hand, is born in sunny Merced, California on July 19, 1982 (yes, we've flash-forwarded again).
- Neither Nao Kao nor Foua can speak English, which creates some tension between them and their delivery doctors. Nao Kao doesn't care much about modern medicine though, instead bringing Foua traditional Hmong dishes given to women after childbirth.
- Once Foua and Lia are discharged, the family holds a hu plig ceremony for Lia. A hu plig ceremony is meant to summon the child's soul to its body, protecting it from evil spirits known as dab. Spooky.