The Land I Lost is an autobiographical book that centers on the life of the author, Quang Nhuong Huynh.

[2] Huynh's second book, Water Buffalo Days, used multiple passages originally published in The Land I Lost, though it focused on the author's childhood rather than his entire life.

With the Publication of The Land I Lost and Water Buffalo Days, Huynh became the first Vietnamese to publish fiction and non-fiction in English.

After being wounded in the Vietnam War, Huynh traveled to the United States for physical therapy in 1963.

[5] Deciding to stay in the U.S. after therapy, Huynh began his writing career with the release of The Land I Lost in 1986.