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The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures
by Anne Fadiman
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About This Book
ISBN13: 9780374525644 |
Awards
1997 National Book Critics Circle Award for general nonfiction
Synopses & Reviews
Publisher Comments:
Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for NonfictionWhen 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.
Review:
"Ms. Fadiman tells her story with a novelist's grace, playing the role of cultural broker, comprehending those who do not comprehend each other and perceiving what might have been done or said to make the outcome different." Richard Bernstein, The New York Times
Review:
"An intriguing, spirit-lifting, extraordinary exploration of two cultures in uneasy coexistence...A wonderful aspect of Fadiman's book is her evenhanded, detailed presentation of these disparate cultures and divergent views — not with cool, dispassionate fairness but rather with a warm, involved interest...Fadiman's book is superb, informal cultural anthropology — eye-opening, readable, utterly engaging." Carole Horn, The Washington Post Book World
Review:
"This fine book recounts a poignant tragedy...It has no heroes or villains, but it has an abunance of innocent suffering, and it most certainly does have a moral...[A] sad, excellent book." Melvin Konner, The New York Times Book Review
Review:
"I cannot think of a book by a non-physician that is more understanding of the difficulties of caring for people...or of the conditions under which today's medicine is practiced." Sherwin B. Nuland, The New Republic
Review:
"Superb, informal cultural anthropology — eye-opening, readable, utterly engaging." Carole Horn, The Washington Post Book World
Synopsis:
Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction, this brilliantly reported and beautifully crafted book explores the clash between a medical center in California and a Laotian refugee family over their care of a child--and the lack of understanding that led to tragedy.
Description:
Includes bibliographical references (p. [313]-326) and index.
About the Author
Anne Fadiman is the editor of The American Scholar. Recipient of a National Magazine Award for reporting and a John S. Knight Fellowship in Journalism, she has written for Civilization, Harper's, Life, and The New York Times, among other publications. She lives in New York City.
What Our Readers Are Saying
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Average customer rating based on 2 comments:
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Jeane, April 2, 2008 (view all comments by Jeane)
Fadiman has written a fantastic book about the clash between two cultures met in the arena of medicine. At three months old Lia, daughter of Hmong immigrants, developed symptoms of epilepsy. Her parents viewed this condition as indication that her soul had been stolen by a malevolent spirit. Her team of doctors at the Merced Community Medical Center prescribed medicine that could halt her seizures. But her parents did not understand the doctors' diagnosis, routinely failed to administer her medications and preferred to treat her with traditional Hmong healing methods. Both the doctors and her parents cared deeply for Lia, but their complete failure to understand each other led to a disastrous series of events and tragedy. This book is a skillful woven story built of Lia's complex medical case, her family's stubborn solidarity and an exploration into Hmong culture, history and folklore. It presents both sides of the story fairly, looking in equal depth at the doctors' concerns and the deep-rooted beliefs of the Hmong.
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Pam Magnuson, February 9, 2007 (view all comments by Pam Magnuson)
Despite the fact that I am a nurse so could relate to the many difficulties of language barriers with patients, I loved the descriptions of the cultural traditions and beliefs of the Hmong. There is a good historical description of the Hmong and their involvement with the Vietnam War as well as their escape from Loas and immigration to the U.S. A very interesting read.
View all 2 comments
Product Details
- ISBN:
- 9780374525644
- Subtitle:
- A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures
- Author:
- Publisher:
- Farrar, Straus and Giroux
- Location:
- New York :
- Subject:
- Medicine
- Subject:
- Health
- Subject:
- Ethics
- Subject:
- Ethnology
- Subject:
- Minority Studies
- Subject:
- Anthropology - Cultural
- Subject:
- Emigration and immigration
- Subject:
- Intercultural communication
- Subject:
- Health - General
- Subject:
- Medical care
- Subject:
- Epilepsy
- Subject:
- Ethnic groups
- Subject:
- Hmong (asian people)
- Subject:
- Cross-Cultural Comparison
- Subject:
- Transcultural medical care
- Subject:
- Delivery of Health Care
- Subject:
- Epilepsy in children
- Subject:
- Attitude to health.
- Subject:
- Attitude of health personnel.
- Subject:
- Hmong American children.
- Subject:
- Hmong Americans.
- Subject:
- Minority Studies - General
- Edition Number:
- 1st paperback ed.
- Edition Description:
- Pbk
- Series Volume:
- no. 5
- Publication Date:
- 19980930
- Binding:
- TP
- Language:
- English
- Illustrations:
- Y
- Pages:
- 352
- Dimensions:
- 8.30x5.54x.94 in. .72 lbs.
