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Search - The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures
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The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures Author: |
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Book Information
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Other Versions of this Book: Hardcover
Book Description:
Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction
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 independent 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.
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 independent 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.
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Top Member Book Reviews
Lynn R. (
5 member(s) found this review helpful.
I absolutely loved this book! It is written with such insight into the culture of the Hmong. It was an eye opener of the best kind - taking the reader into the midst of a medical case involving a very ill Hmong child in a small county hospital in California - language and cultural barriers that the author works to eliminate. Racial tensions, discrimination, miscommunication - the author worked through it and detailed the journey into a very readable, intelligent, thought-provoking piece of work.
4 member(s) found this review helpful.
Awesome read! I loved it!! This was actually a text book for a medical anthro class, but I read it in two days (way ahead of the rest of the class). Great book.
4 member(s) found this review helpful.
This book changed the way I looked at immigration, culture, the right to choose medically. Very thought provoking book. Extremely well written.
3 member(s) found this review helpful.
This book details the clash of two culturs: an immigrant Hmong family and the American medical system as each strives to keep the young daughter who has epilepsy healthy. Very though provoking--it provided the perspective of our medical care through the eyes of another culture. (good information for all health care professionals.) I also learned alot about the Hmong culture, how they were affected by the Vietnam war and how many immigrated to the US. This is not a light reading book; I also had a light-reading book to read so I could alternate between them as my mood dictated. Story plot detailed in other reviews.
3 member(s) found this review helpful.
A Hmong child, her American doctors, and the collision of two cultures. Probably one of the best books I have ever read, a non-fiction that reads like a novel. This child is born with epilepsy, and the parents believe her condition is caused by spirits called "dabs", and don't administer her medications properly, if at all. Anne Fadiman is a wonderful writer, and you will be caught up in the drama as well as further understanding the Hmong people and their history. I can't recommend this highly enough.
3 member(s) found this review helpful.
A very good look at a clash of cultures - very readable.
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
Excellent book, well written. I could see both sides very clearly.
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
Engaging and interesting. A great balance between a case study and anthropoligical history.
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
Detailed account of cultural misunderstandings surrounding the treatment of a Hmong child with epilepsy.
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
Provides interesting insights into Hmong immigrant experiences in the United States.
Please Rate these Book Reviews
Nancy B. (Being from California's Central Valley, I found this book very insightful into the Hmong story. Definitely an eye opener to many sides on one story.
Debra R. (This book explores the clash between a small county hospital in California and a refugee family from Laos over the care of Lia Lee, a Hmong child diagnosed with severe epilepsy. Lia's parents and the doctors both want what's best for Lia, but the lack of understanding between them leads to tragedy. Anne Fadiman's compassionate account of this cultural impasse is literary journalism at it's best. ( From the book jacket)
Kikuyo C. (i heard this is a really good book...it's about a hmong child...her american doctors...and the collision of two cultures...this is taken right off the top of the book.
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