---
title: An Imagined History
date: 2021-09-17T17:27:00-04:00
author: University of Maryland
canonical_url: "https://terp.umd.edu/an-imagined-history"
section: Articles
---
# An Imagined History

*September 17, 2021* — by [Sala Levin ’10](/authors/sala-levin-10)


- *Photos courtesy of Eric Nguyen*

*Feature Artworkand Thumbnail 18*

A child of Vietnamese refugees, Eric Nguyen ’09 knew that his parents never wanted to talk about what they had endured in their home country and amid the jarring displacement of their early days in the United States.

But in the humidity of Louisiana, which reminded Nguyen of his visits to Vietnam, he found a new world of Vietnamese immigrants who could fill in some gaps in his knowledge, and inspire his acclaimed debut novel about a family finding their place in the grocery stores, churches and apartment buildings of New Orleans.


*Eric Nguyen headshot*




**Issue:** [Fall 2021](https://terp.umd.edu/editions/fall-2021)


**Types:** [Post-Grad](https://terp.umd.edu/category/post-grad)