Aimee Phan was born in 1977 in Orange County, California, and now teaches creative writing at Washington State University, where she is at work on a novel.

"With almost plainsong dialogue and unornamented description that takes you straight to the troubled hearts of these people . . . Phan [builds] an unsentimental, profoundly persuasive portrait of ordinary people making the best of extraordinary, almost inexpressible tragedy." --Elle

"Remarkable . . . The stories are indelible yet float past you . . . many complicated issues are brought to life here." --San Francisco Chronicle

"Phan charts [these] journeys with acuity, sensitivity, [and] wisdom." --Los Angeles Times

"Phan accomplishes what only a true artist can: she gives voice to the voiceless and makes them speak for us all. This is a thrillingly important book." --Robert Olen Butler

"There is nothing more satisfying for readers than having an author take them to a place they think they know, and then showing them how very little they actually do." --Hartford Courant

Publisher: St. Martins Press-3PL

Pub date: 2005-11-15

Length: 256 pages