Thanhhà was born in Vietnam, and in 1975, her family fled to Florida at the end of the Vietnam War. They eventually landed in Montgomery, Alabama. When she was just one year old, her father was reported missing in action and to this day has not been found. Her mother continued to raise her and her eight older siblings to live with the hope that he might return but not to become mired in their sadness. Though they were sad their father was missing, their house was still filled with humor and laughter, a theme that Thanhhà incorporates into her novels. She says that refugee stories are already sad, and she does not want her readers to have to sit with more sadness for 300 pages. Her stories focus not just on the horrors that cause refugees to flee their homes but the happiness and the healing they experience after they escape and resettle. Thanhhà also tries to tell the true stories of refugees, which are often far different from the stereotypical images portrayed by journalists. Thanhhà says that just because a person lived through a war does not mean they saw war. For example, she never saw a gun or blood and only has happy memories from her time in Vietnam.