“A remarkable story, a courageous performance, and we're privileged to get it.”—Los Angeles Times Set in the 1970s, in the era of the Vietnam War and its volatile aftermath, Land of Smiles tells the story of a young Southeast Asian man's journey from a refugee camp in Thailand to a housing project in Oakland, California.The novel opens with a Laotian boy, Boontakone, who swims across the Mekong River, leaving his old life behind, and losing his mother and sister in the process. In a refugee camp in Thailand, Boontakone struggles to decipher the secret codes of his new life. Huo offers a glimpse into a world as highly ordered and dependent on proper observance of social customs and manners as any created by Jane Austen. Eventually Boontakone and his father make their way to America, where the young man will have to sort out impressions as dazzling and puzzling as the American high school, Superman, and Saturday Night Fever. Balancing a moving account of dislocation and loss with gentle comedy, Land of Smiles is a new classic in the literature of the immigrant experience.

Before Bush and Iraq, there was Nixon and Vietnam. It's 1969. The Vietnam War has turned into a meat grinder, 250,000 protesters are marching on Washington to confront a defiant President Nixon holed up in the White House, and Alden Maytree, fresh out of Catholic seminary, has passed his pre-induction physical. Just before Uncle Sam drafts him, he gets a surprise call. Instead of killing commies in Vietnam, how about spending two years next door in exotic Thailand, the "Land of Smiles," as a Peace Corps Volunteer? But when he arrives in Bangkok, he discovers he can't escape the war and clashes with Peace Corps, the U.S. Embassy and the CIA. Land of Smiles is a memoir of one young man's coming of age during the Boomer generation's war-and the painful lessons he and America both learn as they try to save the world.

Ethan Torrini always knew where his life would lead, but doesn’t know if he wants to end up there. Needing an escape from a stagnant year before re-applying to law schools, Ethan follows his lifelong friend Ken to the small town of Chanthaburi, Thailand, to assist with his online gem selling business and find freedom from the inevitable march to forever. An artist at heart, Ethan is drawn to Chanthaburi’s many beauties, from the river that meanders through town to the glimmering gemstones in the nearby market and to a local woman with coconut-scented hair. For the first time, anything feels possible. Yet as a farang in a town of few foreigners, Ethan can’t comprehend the impact of his every action. A drive through town, a friendly drink with a rival seller, a dinner with a visiting English tutor, a simple pencil sketch … all have consequences that reach beyond Ethan and into the cultural, familial, traditional and financial obligations that dictate the lives around him. Even halfway around the world, there is no such thing as escape.

“A remarkable story, a courageous performance, and we're privileged to get it.”—Los Angeles Times Set in the 1970s, in the era of the Vietnam War and its volatile aftermath, Land of Smiles tells the story of a young Southeast Asian man's journey from a refugee camp in Thailand to a housing project in Oakland, California.The novel opens with a Laotian boy, Boontakone, who swims across the Mekong River, leaving his old life behind, and losing his mother and sister in the process. In a refugee camp in Thailand, Boontakone struggles to decipher the secret codes of his new life. Huo offers a glimpse into a world as highly ordered and dependent on proper observance of social customs and manners as any created by Jane Austen. Eventually Boontakone and his father make their way to America, where the young man will have to sort out impressions as dazzling and puzzling as the American high school, Superman, and Saturday Night Fever. Balancing a moving account of dislocation and loss with gentle comedy, Land of Smiles is a new classic in the literature of the immigrant experience.

The Third Verse of the hymn “How Firm a Foundation” describes the author experiences in Thailand. The challenges the author faced have driven her to pray more and seek the Lord’s guidance more earnestly and to realize more and more how God was using them to “consume the dross and refine the gold” in her life. The author was blessed to have help and guidance in working with the ethnic Karens of Burma, then Thailand, and the Karens living in the USA. God used her to help in Christian Education, Healthcare, Women’s Work, in preparation of language lessons, both for those needing to learn the language and for Karens illiterate in their own language.

Move to Thailand? Are you crazy? Some may ask. But in reality, Thailand is an attractive place with great food, cheap medicines, first class healthcare and wellness support and lots of friendly people who really know how to enjoy life. Those who peel surface that most casual visitors and armchair travellers see will discover that Thailand is a lot more than the sex and human trafficking capital as depicted by the Western media. There are very valid reasons why perfectly decent folks are so keen on living there. But ... what happens if the keen Farang settler peels deeper under the surface of the fun and friendly Thai people? Written by author of Spellbound in Chiangmai and Understanding Thailand's Money Culture, this book takes you on a journey from fascination to infatuation, then to realization and finally disillusionment - stages that many foreigners go through when they decide to settle down in the Land of Smiles after seeing all the good things about it. Chapters in the book include: Low Cost Of Living Thai Hospitality & Tolerance Oriental Wisdom Sabai Sabai The Tough and the Geek Reality - Complacency Reality – How Calm Are They? Reality - Education Reality – Belief in Miracles Reality – The Price of Reputation The Real Thai Values Reality – Do You Know Your Rank? Reality – the Gods Themselves The Problem With Mai Pen Rai Mai Pen Rai In Reverse Farang Remain Farang Honesty & Rule of Law It Gets Even More Absurd The Truth – Distaff Attractions Stage One – Infatuation Why Thai Women? Stage Two - Discovery How The Good Girls Do It Impermanence Stage Three - Denial Or Compromise Sneaky & Superficial