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Book Review Of The Spirit Catches You And You Fall Down By Anne Fadiman

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Anne Fadiman, author of the book, ‘The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down” reveals the negative effects of no cross-cultural communication in the medical profession. Lia Lee and her family had no previous experiences in an American hospital, America no less. This proved to be difficult, leading both sides (Hmong family and doctors) to misinterpret what both are doing and saying. This book summary summarized the book, the qualifications of the sources used, and critiques the book as a whole.
The book is about Lia Lee, a Hmong girl who has epilepsy; having her first seizure when her sister Yer slammed a door. Foua and Nao Kao (her parents) diagnosed her with quag dab peg, or the spirit catches you and you fall down. “The doctors can fix some sicknesses that involve the body and blood, but for us Hmong, some people get sick because of their soul, so they need spiritual things,” - page 101 says Foua Kao; she believes …show more content…

Moreover, the writing is exceptional, but the format and the flow of the book is disorganized and incomprehensible. The book has a large number of frame stories, and although it gives character to other literary works, it places you with one thought, moves you to another, then to another, to bring you back to the previous thought; confusing you with what scene you are in. Although the format is not outstanding, the main theme of the book is, collision of culture. The subject of the book being Lia Lee with her epilepsy and her family and the doctors dealing with the epilepsy and the cultural differences. The author’s aim for this book is to look at both sides of the story, Hmong and American. For the Hmong, it was difficult with the cultural change and the American hospital procedures clashed with their beliefs. To the Americans, the Hmong were non-compliant and disobliging. Overall, Fadiman accomplished the emphasis of the theme, subject, and aim of the book, but failed the format and flow of

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