ANDREW LAM fled Vietnam with his family during the fall of Saigon in April 1975 when he was 11 years old. He attended the University of California, Berkeley, majoring in biochemistry before switching to creative writing at San Francisco State University. He is a journalist and short story writer, currently serving as the web editor of New America Media. His previous books include Perfume Dreams: Reflections on the Vietnamese Diaspora, East Eats West: Writing in Two Hemispheres, and Birds of Paradise Lost. His most recent book is the collection Stories from the Edge of the Sea (Red Hen Press).