AUTHORS' STATEMENT

In an effort to uncover the untold narratives of immigrant doctors, these pieces tell stories of hardship, war, and poverty. The works include intimate details and emotions from immigrants while exposing reactions from current generations. Using interview-style methods to collect immigrant experiences, the two pieces unearth the immigrant doctor perspective as well as the youth’s perspective.

“The Orange Tree: A Military Doctor's Choice” by Summer Nguyen seeks to excavate her grandfather’s experiences in the Vietnam War as a frontline surgeon. “Double Vision” by Brandon Ba aims to uncover his parents' experiences in their paths along medicine, especially influenced by the turmoil of Myanmar (formerly Burma), in addition to their expectations for Brandon himself.

Both works are structured in a historical narrative format with essays to uncover the immigrant doctor viewpoint in conjunction with poetic forms to unveil the author’s personal reflections to the stories. The goal of these essay-poem fusions is to hit upon both the outlook of the immigrant doctor and the aftereffects on younger generations. Not only does this welding of structures allow for two narratives to unfold, but it also generates a connection between trans-generational feelings about the immigrant and non-immigrant experience.

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- Summer Nguyen & Brandon Ba