Niagara College Professor Jolie Phuong Hoang continues to make her mark as a published author.
Though she spends her days teaching math at the College, Hoang has always had a passion for writing and has found solace in the process of sharing her family’s harrowing journey fleeing communist Vietnam in the 1980s through her novels Anchorless (2019) and Three Funerals for My Father (2021).
Her debut, Anchorless, details the family’s first and third escape attempts through the eyes of Hoang’s father, who lost his life during the third attempt. In Three Funerals for My Father, Hoang completes the story, going back in time to share her family’s second escape attempt and their time spent in an Indonesian refugee camp before coming to Canada. The novel, written from both her perspective and that of her father’s ghost, is an intimate story about loss, grief and resilience.
Three Funerals for My Father by Jolie Phuong Hoang
Hoang’s powerful works have made an impact in the literary world. Most recently in December 2022, Three Funerals for My Father was shortlisted as a finalist for the 29th Annual Hamilton Literary Awards in the Non-Fiction category. The Awards celebrated literary excellence in works published in 2021 from the Greater Hamilton Area and Six Nations of the Grand River.
Hoang explained that authors who live in Hamilton, or who previously lived in Hamilton for a significant amount of time, were eligible to submit their works for consideration. When she first came to Canada, Hoang lived in Hamilton for 12 years before moving to Fonthill to join NC as a full-time Math Professor more than 27 years ago.
“My siblings and I were sponsored by Judy and John Smith, the founders of the Hamilton Mountain Fund to Save Vietnamese Boat People,” she said. “The City of Hamilton is the place where kindness embraced me. I experienced the absolute sense of freedom. It is also a city where I know opportunities await those who work hard. Dreams will come true for those who pursue them with passion, perseverance and fortitude.”
While living in Hamilton, Hoang worked as a page at the Hamilton Public Library from 1986-1987, primarily putting books back onto their shelves. “While working, I harboured a secret dream. I asked myself, would this library have a book with my name on one of its shelves?” she recalled.
More than three decades later, she is proud to see her novels on the shelves of the Hamilton Public Library and at many other libraries, including at ncLibraries where both Anchorless and Three Funerals for My Father are available for loan.
A second dream was realized when Hoang became a shortlisted author. “The moment I received an email congratulating me and notifying that I was a shortlisted finalist and inviting me to the award ceremony, I did not believe it,” she said. “Even the next day, I had to read the email again to remind myself that another dream that I have set my goal for has turned into a reality. I also felt conflicted. My Father, while living, encouraged me to set a goal for my dream. His life and how he left this world made my writer’s dream come true.”
Addressing guests at the Hamilton Literary Awards ceremony last December, including representatives from the Hamilton Public Library – a special moment for Hoang – she read an excerpt from her book (pages 162-165) featuring the voice of her father’s ghost.
“I quietly reminded myself that my father was with me at this extraordinary moment. The world was listening to his last words.”
Hoang continues to actively promote Three Funerals for My Father to local audiences and for readers across the globe, including through an Instagram Live event hosted this past February by a book club in Italy. On May 8, in honour of Asian Heritage Month, Hoang will visit the Burlington Public Library where she will discuss her book.
This Monday, May 8th at 7 PM join author Jolie Phuong Hoang, at the @BurlOnLibrary for a reading from her novel “Three Funerals For My Father” and gain insights from the author herself.#burlingtonpubliclibrary #onevents #onauthors pic.twitter.com/rBKXFoJ38r
— Tidewater Press (@tidewaterpress) May 5, 2023
“For years, I have shared my passion for mathematics with my students, teaching formulas and logic of numbers. Now, I have to process a new identity as a writer and a shortlisted author, she said. “I have to admit that I experience imposter syndrome and am still searching for the logic of writing.”
Currently, Professor Hoang is in the process of writing her third novel, a literary fiction. Keep up-to-date on her journey by following @joliephuonghoang on Instagram or visiting joliehoang.com.
Recording of past living library event with Jolie Phuong Hoang
Last May, ncLibraries hosted a living library event with Hoang who shared her family’s story with the NC community. A recording of the event is available online for students and employees – watch it here.
