The Hungry Season: A Journey of War, Love, and Survival -- Lisa M. Hamilton, Hardcover

In the tradition of Katherine Boo and Tracy Kidder, The Hungry Season is an unforgettable portrait of resilience: a nonfiction drama ranging from the mist-covered mountains of Laos to the sunbaked flatlands of Fresno, California, tracing one woman's journey to overcome the wounds inflicted by war and family alike​.

As combat rages across the highlands of Vietnam and Laos, a child is born. Ia Moua enters the world at the bottom of the social order, both because she is part of the Hmong minority and because she is a daughter, not a son. When, at thirteen, she is promised in marriage to a man three times her age, it appears that Ia's future has been decided for her. But after brutal communist rule upends her life, this intrepid girl resolves to chart her own defiant path.

With ceaseless ambition and an indestructible spirit, Ia builds a new existence for herself and, before long, for her children, first in the refugee camps of Thailand and then in the industrial heartland of California's San Joaquin Valley. At the root of her success is a simple act: growing Hmong rice, just as her ancestors did, and selling it to those who hunger for the Laos of their memories. While the booming business brings her newfound power, it also forces her to face her own past. In order to endure the present, Ia must confront all that she left behind, and somehow find a place in her heart for those who chose to leave her.

Meticulously reported over seven years and written with the intimacy of a novel, The Hungry Season is the story of one radiant woman's quest for survival--and for the nourishment that matters most.


Author: Lisa M. Hamilton
Publisher: Little Brown and Company
Published: 09/26/2023
Pages: 368
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.25lbs
Size: 9.45h x 6.37w x 0.96d
ISBN: 9780316415897

Review Citation(s):
Library Journal Prepub Alert 04/01/2023 pg. 14
Booklist 06/01/2023 pg. 28
Kirkus Reviews 08/01/2023
Shelf Awareness 09/29/2023

About the Author
Writer and photographer Lisa M. Hamilton documents agriculture and rural communities around the world. Her work has been recognized with awards from New America, the UC Berkeley School of Journalism, James Beard Foundation, and others. She is the author of Deeply Rooted: Unconventional Farmers in the Age of Agribusiness. Her feature articles have appeared in Harper's, McSweeney's, and The Best American Science and Nature Writing. She lives in Northern California.