Lai Maccarone oral history interview

In this second interview with the DVP, Lai Maccarone moves beyond the chronology of her life to reflect on how her experiences with both her foster families and her biological family have shaped her sense of love, belonging, and identity. A refugee from Da Nang, Vietnam, Lai fled with her mother and several siblings to the United States as an infant, escaping the final days of the Vietnam War. In her first interview, she recounted the timeline of her life, including her early years in the U.S., the loss of her mother, and her journey of reconnecting with her family in Vietnam. In this new interview, she explores the emotional impact of those experiences, examining how they influenced her relationships with her siblings, foster families, and children. Additionally, she discusses familial bonds, a significant health crisis, and her identity as a Vietnamese refugee during a time of national racial reckoning.