From the Land of Shadows

Khatharya Um is a political scientist, an Associate Professor in the Department of Ethnic Studies, and Chair of Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of California, Berkeley.

"Offering an impressive archive of the legacy of the Khmer Rouge,From the Land of Shadowsprovides vivid first-hand accounts of starvation, hard labor, disappearances and executions, post-migration trauma, and intergenerational remembering and forgetting. With beautiful storytelling and compelling prose, Khatharya Um deftly situates rich narratives of the survivors struggles to make meaning out of lives that have been forever ruptured within the larger historical context of Cambodias colonial and post-colonial history. A deeply affecting and much-awaited book." - Yen Le Espiritu,author of Body Counts: The Vietnam War and Militarized Refuge(es) "With rich ethnographic details, From the Land of Shadows places survivor narratives in conversation with literature on revolution, diaspora, transnationalism, and memory. Khatharya Um makes visible the lived experiences of Cambodians as they try to make sense of their new identities in multiple contexts. A remarkable book." - Chia Youyee Vang,author of Hmong America: Reconstructing Community in Diaspora "The book, which includes an incisive discussion of the paradoxes but necessity of return, will interest those considering the nature of diasporas." (Choice) "Um writes with scholarly rigor." (Journal of American History)