Title: Author: Anne Fadiman
Pages: 341
Two Sentence Summary: Three-month-old Hmong immigrant Lia Lee suffers from debilitating epileptic seizures. Talented doctors and loving parents aren’t enough to save her, however, because of the vast cultural differences they aren’t able to overcome.
Two Sentence Review: This book is awesome. Seriously.
Rating: 
Summary: When baby Lia is first brought to Merced Community Medical Center in Merced, CA, with seizures, the on-call doctor diagnosed her with bronchial congestion. Without an interpreter on staff her parents could not explain that this seizure was one of at least twenty Lia has experienced in the last month. On one scary visit, on-call physician Dan Murphy had to give Lia a spinal tap, but could not explain what he was doing to her terrified parents.
After numerous visits to the crowded and overworked county hospital, Lia’s doctors diagnosed her with epilepsy. Her parents, on the other hand, called her illness qaug dab peg (“the spirit catches you and you fall down”). This deceptively simple difference is the catalyst for the cultural misunderstandings that plague Lia’s care and are the center of what The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down tries to explore.
Review: What journalist Anne Fadiman does best, in my opinion, is present this tragedy without placing blame or demonizing anyone involved. It would be easy for her to have chosen Lia’s doctors or Lia’s parents or just about anyone else in the story to place the blame with, but she doesn’t, and rightly so. What happened to Lia is a tragedy, but it’s also a tragedy for everyone else involved because it’s a tragedy most know could have been prevented if some level of cultural understanding could have been reached.
Instead of just explaining the tragedy in only it’s modern context, Fadiman traces the struggles of the Hmong community all the way back to their initial homeland in China, which they were forced out of hundreds of years ago. Since then,the Hmong people have suffered all over the place, and Fadiman follows this story parallel to her story about Lia. Following this story helps, in some ways, to make Lia’s story more understandable.
What it doesn’t do is make this story any less frustrating. As I read, I kept wanting to be mad at someone. I kept wanting to tell the characters what in hindsight they were so clearly missing. I wanted them, so badly, to just understand each other to help save Lia, but they couldn’t. It’s a hard book to read, but a book I couldn’t put down. I’m getting goosebumps just thinking about as I write this review.
I don’t think I can recommend this book highly enough. Anyone with even a passing interest in cultural differences, literary journalism, or stories that truly tug at your heart while still making you think should read this. You won’t regret it.
And now, the award I promised in my WG post yesterday! The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down is the first recipient of “A+ Perfect Score”!
See, it’s me, waving my hands around with spirit fingers using my giant mouth to tell you to read this book!
Other Reviews: Book Addiction; AndiLit; Dog Ear Diary; Book Nut; SmallWord Reads;
{ 28 comments… read them below or add one }
I’ve been wanting to read this for four or five years thanks for reminding me!
I guess this goes on my list for summer (“the imaginary time when I will have more time to read”).
Excellent review, Kim.. I’m definitely interested in cultural differences and understanding. I’ll have to get to this one soon.
YAY! that is awesome! I love your book award, it is so perfect. That book sounds outstanding! I have never heard of it, and now I am wishing I had it on my shelf to read. Lovely….there is no more room on my shelves
I’ll make room.
I, too, love this book. Haven’t read it in a few years, so perhaps I’ll go out and find it again. And another thing I love: your m4d gr4phix sk1llz
Another thoughtful book I’ve enjoyed in the same sort of genre — memoir involving the confluence of social, medical and cultural issues and taboos — is My Own Country, by Abraham Verghese (probably better known for his later book The Tennis Partner).
Link (because I wasn’t sure if your comments let me do HTML): http://www.amazon.com/My-Own-Country-Doctors-Story/dp/0679752927/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241730853&sr=8-1
Yay…I’m glad you liked this book so much. And I love your A+ award. Much better than pocket protectors. ;-b
Nice review. This book really stuck with me. I read it years ago, and still think of parts of it when I come across local immigrants from that part of the world.
Loved this one too!
Hee, that award is cute. I had to read this one for an anthropology course in college, and I absolutely loved it, despite it completely breaking my heart.
I loved this, too…and it was the best discussion my book club has EVER had!
I think I might have to recommend this for next book club!
Hi Kim,
I came across your blog the other day while looking for reviews of this book. I was working on a paper about it and wanted to get some critical reaction. I love the concept of your blog. I actually just start my own, and your concept inspired me to do a review for my first post. Please check it out: http://whimsrandomwalk.wordpress.com/2010/04/30/review-the-spirit-catches-you-and-you-fall-down/#more-7
Jason: Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope your paper went well
This is one of my favorite books.
Great review–I’m linking to yours on my review.
Thanks Sarah, I’ll add yours as well.
This is one of my top 10 favourite books. I’m so glad to finally (FINALLY!) see someone else give it a positive review. I can’t seem to get anyone to even finish it (although your review caused my fellow blogger and friend to put it on hold at the library).
I’ve gotten a few people to read this one. I recommend it ALL THE TIME. Seriously, all the time. I need to reread it soon.
You’re welcome, I hope you are able to read it. It’s fantastic.
This comment made me laugh out loud, which is sort of inappropriate since class is just starting now, because it’s exactly like me.
Summer is also the time I’ve designated as “the imaginary time when I will have more time to read” — I have an almost absurd list of books I plan to finish over the summer.
Also “the imaginary time when I will have more time to read” sounds like it would be an awesome challenge title…
This is one of the most even-handed and frustrating books I’ve ever read. I think it says even more about cultural differences for that reason — everyone is fundamentally a good person, but also a little bit “wrong” in the way they choose to deal with people they see as an other.
I borrowed this one from the library, but it’s so great I’m going to buy it the first chance I get. It’s a book I’m definitely going to re-read. For sure make room for this one
Ha ha, thanks
I do have some mad skillz.
I just read the link you sent, it looks awesome. Sigh, another book for my library queue. I swear, I have like a million books I’m planning to read this summer. It’s ridiculous.
Yeah, I think so. I’m a sucker for the South Park character creator — I love making those goofy looking people.
I’m originally from Minneapolis, which has a large population of Hmong immigrants. I’m certainly going to think about things differently when I go home next.
Awesome!
My heart broke too, it’s such a tough book to read. It’s even worse that such a little girl got stuck in the middle of such a mess.
I can imagine, I can think of a million things to talk about with this book. And since it’s so even-handed, the book really leaves it open to decide what you want. What were some of the discussion topics?
Do it!