This research explores the socially embedded experiences of four adults who migrated in childhood and maintain their mother tongue while acquiring and appropriating a second language and way of being in the world. The participants in this inquiry, from Somalia, Peru, Hong Kong and Latvia, are from diverse linguistic, cultural, ethnic and religious backgrounds. They have maintained their mother tongues and cultures to varying degrees since childhood. The inquiry is situated in the field of minority bilingualism and multicultural education and is rooted in the researcher's own experience of migration. The researcher employs an arts-informed life history approach, within a social constructionist and social interactionist framework to explore the phenomenon of minority mother tongue maintenance.