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| The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down (Anne Fadiman) | << May | April 2005 | March >> |
A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures“Foua and Nao Kao were proud that so many people had come to celebrate their good fortune in being favored with such a healthy and beautiful daughter. That morning Nao Kao had sacrificed a pig in order to invite the soul of one of Lia's ancestors...to be reborn in her body. After the guests arrived, an elder of the Yang clan stood at the apartment's open front door...with two live chickens in a bag on the floor next to him, and chanted a greeting to Lia's soul. The two chickens were then killed, plucked, eviscerated, partially boiled, retrieved from the cooking pot, and examined to see if their skulls were translucent and their tongues curled upward, both signs that Lia's new soul was pleased to take up residence in her body and that her name was a good one.” - Anne Fadiman, in The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down
So Lia Lee entered the curious world of the Hmong - not in the mountains of Laos but instead in Merced, California. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down is a book describing the conflict between Hmong culture and that of modern American medicine. Anne Fadiman shares the story of Lia Lee, a Hmong child who suffers severe epileptic seizures throughout her early childhood. Lia's parents do not understand the treatment administered by her American doctors, fail to medicate her properly or consistently, and turn to traditional Hmong medicine to treat their daughter's illness. The Merced hospital where Lia is treated, on the other hand, fails miserably in accommodating its vulnerable patient. There are never interpreters on hand to explain things to the Lees; doctors fail to communicate the severity of Lia's condition; and no one seems to make any effort to explore or understand the family's culture and reliance upon traditional medicine. It is, to say the least, a tragic case of culture clash. Among the Southeast Asia immigrant populations in America today, the Hmong are perhaps the most poorly integrated. Clinging fiercely to their native culture (and that culture being so distinct), the Hmong often remain isolated from the broader American community. The Spirit Catches You is excellent (and rare) for the details and care with which Hmong culture is presented. Fadiman does a remarkable job remaining neutral, withholding judgment and simply communicating the challenges faced by American doctors and Hmong patients whenever they meet. The book includes discussion of the historical context involved; Fadiman shares the little-known details of the role played by the Hmong during the conflict in Vietnam. Beyond specifics of the Hmong experience, the book illuminates the reality of American medicine today and the need for cultural sensitivity and respect among all involved. Be they Hmong, Vietnamese, or Hispanic, doctors are challenged by the diversity of today's patient population. A sad but powerful tale, The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down should be required reading for every medical student in the country. << Find this Book on Amazon.com >>
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![[Book Cover Page: The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down]](images/books/the-spirit-catches-you.jpg "The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down")