The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures
Book Title: The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures
Book Description: When three-month-old Lia Lee Arrived at the county hospital emergency room in Merced, California, a chain of events was set in motion from which neither she nor her parents nor her doctors would ever recover. Lia's parents, Foua and Nao Kao, were part of a large Hmong community in Merced, refugees from the CIA-run "Quiet War" in Laos. The Hmong, traditionally a close-knit and fiercely people, have been less amenable to assimilation than most immigrants, adhering steadfastly to the rituals and beliefs of their ancestors. Lia's pediatricians, Neil Ernst and his wife, Peggy Philip, cleaved just as strongly to another tradition: that of Western medicine. When Lia Lee Entered the American medical system, diagnosed as an epileptic, her story became a tragic case history of cultural miscommunication. Parents and doctors both wanted the best for Lia, but their ideas about the causes of her illness and its treatment could hardly have been more different. The Hmong see illness aand healing as spiritual matters linked to virtually everything in the universe, while medical community marks a division between body and soul, and concerns itself almost exclusively with the former. Lia's doctors ascribed her seizures to the misfiring of her cerebral neurons; her parents called her illness, qaug dab peg--the spirit catches you and you fall down--and ascribed it to the wandering of her soul. The doctors prescribed anticonvulsants; her parents preferred animal sacrifices.
Book Author: Anne Fadiman
Publisher Logo:
ISBN: 978-0374533403
Number Of Pages: 368
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Story / Interest
(5)
Essential Reading for anyone who is interested in cultural exploration
This book really affected me and I am so glad I had the opportunity to read it. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman is a heartbreaking book about the struggle of cultures in collision. The book is based on the true story of a Hmong refugee family and their battles with the American healthcare system as their daughter, Lia, has a serious illness. The story is crushing as Lia’s family desperately wants the best medical care for Lisa, but there is a painful lack of understanding and communication between the family and Lia’s doctors. My heart pained as the book weaves together cultural and medical detail to provide readers with a vivid glimpse into a cultural clash that is shown in its complex and layered form. Fadiman covers many important topics such as religious, cultural, and linguistic barriers. This book sparked an interest for me in linguistics and cultures. This is an important book for anyone interested in different cultures and how they intersect in the medical arena. It is also a must-read for anyone looking for a human story filled with emotion. I recommend this book for anyone ages 13 and up due to its content and mature themes. This is a big 5 out of 5.
Overall
5