My husband has often said to me, "I am you and you are me." It is in this spirit that I can only attempt to give voice to his incredible story of "rising up" again. It is in this spirit that I humbly try to commit some memories to paper for posterity in an attempt to give an almost lost voice a sounding board. It is in this spirit that I recognize the voices of all refugees who share a loud, yet unheard voice. It is in this spirit of unity with him that I would like to record his story for our children and those who make their lives working with others with similar tales. It is my hope that understanding may be increased in some small way as we validate the experience of the invisible in our society and lend credibility to them.

An oral history of a Vietnamese man learning English as a second language, recounted by Stephaney Ann Jones-Vo.