There is a sense of loneliness that can mark the immigrant experience, that makes immigrants always searching for “home.” Toni Morrison said: “The act of imagination is bound up with memory…. All water has a perfect memory and is forever trying to get back to where it was.” Visiting Viet Nam this past summer with my mother, I grasped why she has longed to return since she escaped as a refugee and left her entire family behind at the age of seven. The rush of emotions was almost overwhelming - we were embraced ravenously and equally returned the affection. I wanted to capture every sense I had of the place and the people. My mom’s memories had passed on to me, as well, and here we were making new memories together.
