The Sweetness of Freedom, Stories of Immigrants
Stephen Ostrander and Martha Aladjem Bloomfield
Foreword by Francis “Bus” Spaniola
Michigan State University Press, 2010

The Sweetness of Freedom presents an eclectic grouping of late nineteenth- and twentieth-century immigrants’ narratives and the personal artifacts, historical documents, and photographs these travelers brought on their journeys to Michigan. Most of the oral histories in this volume are based on interviews conducted with the immigrants themselves. Some of the immigrants presented here hoped to gain better education and jobs. Others—refugees—fled their homelands because of war, poverty, repression, religious persecution, or ethnic discrimination. All dreamt of freedom and opportunity. Their stories reveal how they established new lives far away from home, how they endured homesickness and separation, what they gave up and what they gained.

“God gave me a second chance to live this life, and I cannot think of a better way than living this life to the fullest and happiest. As I walk along the street looking at the big green trees and enjoying the cool breezes of the summer, I can almost taste the sweetness of freedom. I can never forget that event for the rest of my life. Whenever I think about it, I get very emotional. It helps me overcome the troubles and the obstacles that I faced.”– Lance Truong came as a refugee from Vietnam to Michigan, when he was fourteen years old, in 1975, and now serves as an IT Infrastructure Analyst for the State of Michigan

The title for our book originated from his story!