In 1959 the Lee family fled Indonesia to escape widespread anti-Chinese sentiment and after a five-year trek through Hong Kong and Japan, they settled in the United States in 1964.

Such experiences of his parents and even his father’s conversion to Christianity as a minister upon the soil of his new homeland America,[3] Lee, could only find spiritual refuge in penning down the meaning of life or its roots in the various poetry as his memory reel before his eyes.

His family life experiences, and his varied mindset of its journey are left formulated in deep thoughts in poems such as Self-Help for Refugees, Immigrant Blues and Station.

None of these compositions record a sound of new life experiences embraced with an iota of joy or excitement of 'new beginnings', as the original root had already suddenly been pulled and uprooted for him.

In this book, Earl G. Ingersoll has collected interviews with the poet consisting of "conversational" questions meant to bring out Lee's views on Asian American poetry, writing, and identity.