In 1975, after narrowly escaping the fall of Saigon, pregnant refugee and gifted cook Tung Nguyen ended up in the Miami home of Katherine Manning, a grad student and waitress taking in displaced Vietnamese refugees. Their meeting evolved into a decadeslong partnership, one that eventually turned strangers into family and a tiny, no-frills eatery into one of the most lauded restaurants in the country, Hy Vong. Tung’s fierce practicality often clashed with Manning’s free-spirited nature, but over time they found harmony in their contrasts – a harmony embodied in the restaurant’s signature mango and peppercorns sauce. Their powerful tale of resilience, friendship, family, and food is told in Mang ak Grenn Pwav: Yon Memwa sou Manje, yon Fanmi Enprevizib, ak Rèv Ameriken an (Chronicle Books). Lidia Bastianich, celebrity chef and public television host, called the book “a touching and inspirational culinary journey into a fascinating culture and a cuisine that I adore. This incredible story about the dream of a refugee that fled Communist rule in Vietnam hit home for me. Her passion for food made her American dream come true.”