In February of 2010, I left my native country of Burma (Myanmar). My mother and stepfather came two years ahead of me to resettle our roots permanently. I was thirteen, and I was leaving everything behind. I actually did not bring this book with me from Burma. It was sent to me in the same year I arrived in New York from my uncle in London. He had a message. The book was to represent everything I am, and everything I am to be. 

My parents chose to leave their comfortable lives amongst friends and families with good paying jobs to start over in the United States for my future. At that time, Burma was still under military rule with no opportunities for young people. Universities were falling apart, the job market was bleak. Most well to do families in Burma would send their kids to study abroad and then return. But that was not even an option for my parents. They wanted me out of the country, for good. For it's a place where dreams die. So they made the bold decision to move eight thousand miles across the world and start over. 

The book is on the history of Burma. I am to never forget where I came from nor forget why I came. 

– Yint Hmu

Relationship:  Im/migrant Im/migrant