20). Lia's doctors ascribed her seizures to the misfiring of her cerebral neurons; her parents called her illness qaug dab peg. She. The epileptic child whose tragic story illustrates the cultural divide between the Hmong and the American medical systems. After much debate, a lot of planning, and a ton of help from Jeanine Holt, the doctors finally agree. Chapters 1-4: The book begins with background on Lia Lee and the Lee Family. The Lees knew immediately what had happened. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down tells the story of Lia Lee, a Hmong child with epilepsy, whose tragic demise reveals the dangers of a lack of cross-cultural. Just be glad you speak the same language. Afterwards, Foua maintained that Lia got more and more sick because the doctors. Neil is a highly intelligent and inquisitive pediatrician who specializes in infections, asthma, and allergies. Anyway, to everyone's surprise, it's one of the most effective campaigns the camp has. There are interesting frictions and incongruities in these places, and often, if you stand at. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down Summary and Analysis of Ch. The story of Lia Lee in The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, by Anne Fadiman, explores many struggles people experience when faced with a life-threatening medical conditions. When a rabies scare cropped up, to get the Hmong to bring in their dogs for vaccines, he organized a Rabies Parade in which there were three characters - a tiger, a chicken, and a dab - which told the people by loudspeaker to bring in their dogs. Summary. In the Hmong language the term for epilepsy is qaug dab peg. Shee Yee eventually transferred his powers to human tvix neebs, or shamans, who summon his spirit as they do his work. Dan is the first doctor to diagnose Lia as epileptic after seeing her in the throes of a seizure during her third visit to the hospital. One of the recurring themes of Anne Fadiman’s novel The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down is the cultural unawareness that is present, not only the American perspective, but the Hmong perspective as well. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down was her first novel, published in 1997. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. This chapter focuses on Lia’s birth and all the Hmong customs that went along with the birth of any child. Analysis. 5-6 Ch. S medical system battles with their traditional Hmong healing methods. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman. This free study guide is stuffed with the juicy details and. Downloadable / Printable Version. The little girl’s name is Lia Lee and she suffers from severe epilepsy at the very young age of 3 months. Print Word PDF. . eight hours in a Hmong home while an American doctor demanded the patient come to the hospital where the. The spirit referred to in the name is a soul-stealing dab; thus, the Hmong believe that epilepsy has a spiritual origin and should be treated accordingly. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down is a sad, beautiful, complicated story that is ostensibly about a tragedy that arose from a clash of cultures, but is really about the tragedy of human beings. 9). Throughout The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, Fadiman often references the Hmong’s maximalist worldview, which takes into account all aspects of life and seeks to acknowledge the interconnectedness of all things. Like many shamanic cultures, the Hmong believe that the condition serves as the gateway between our world and the. ABOUT THE BOOK Anne Fadiman's seminal work of nonfiction, The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, examines the myriad difficulties and complications. The approximate English translation is "the spirit catches you and you fall down. As Lia is being prepared for release, the doctors tell Nao Kao that she will probably die within weeks. Bill didn’t assign blame to Neil for not catching the sepsis. translating literally to “the spirit catches you and you fall down. Foua carried her in a large, embroidered nyias, or baby carrier, preferring it to the wheelchair provided by the Merced County Health Department. Illness had come when the wife of a wicked god named Nyong laid an egg full of dabs. Exactly what every hospital needs. Writing both a literary profile and an in-depth ethnography, Fadiman devotes whole chapters to the history and context of the Hmong ethnic identity, which she characterizes as “independent, insular, antiauthoritarian,. This chapter is so intriguing, because it presents not only the frustrations of the Hmong with American medicine, but also the terrible stress it created within the medical staff. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures is a 1997 book by Anne Fadiman that chronicles the struggles of a Hmong refugee family from Houaysouy, Sainyabuli Province, Laos, [1] the Lees, and their interactions with the health care system in Merced, California. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down explores issues of culture, immigration, medicine, and the war in [Laos] with such skill that it's nearly impossible to put down. Neil admitted that, after all of his efforts and the building of tension before her cataclysmic seizure, he. It tells the story of Lia Lee, a Hmong girl with severe epilepsy, and her family’s journey with managing the condition and the cultural barriers that posed great challenges in Lia’s care. Chapter 7 - Government Property. E. 1617 Words | 7 Pages. Her father is furious, while her mother is devastated. Lia's treatment was complex—her anticonvulsant prescriptions changed 23 times in four years—and the Lees were sure the medicines were bad for their. Many shamans—known as txiv neeb—use seizures to commune with the spirit realm. “The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down” by Anna Fadiman tells the story of Lia Lee, a Hmong child with epilepsy, whose life could have been different if only her family was caught up in western medicine. Download. Like. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 1997 A modern. Chapter 13 represents the falling action of Lia's story as the family adjusts to the reality of her fate. Foua and Nao Kao learned to recognize the signs signaling the onset of Lia's seizures, such as twitching. Incredibly driven and willing to seek out the truth even if it unearths his own mistakes, Neil eventually comes to. A little girl who is part of Merced, California’s population of Hmong immigrants. The Story Catches You and You Fall Down: Tragedy, Ethnography, and "Cultural Competence" Anne Fadiman's The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures (Noon-day Press, 1997) is widely used in "cultural competence" efforts within U. Chapter 2 - Fish Soup. They live in Portland for two years before moving to their current home in Merced, California. One of Lia ’s primary doctors (along with his wife, Peggy Philp) at Merced Community Medical Center. After working as a computer analyst in Paris, he relocated to Merced because he believed it was his “moral responsibility” to help his people in. When the Lee's settled in the United States Foua gave birth to a baby girl named Lia. Analysis. read analysis of Fish Soup. Anne Fadiman’s ethnography . While commonplace in Hmong culture, Americans are uncomfortable with the idea of ritual sacrifice, especially when it is in the public domain. By now, Lia has been seizing for almost two hours. When Fadiman told Foua that she’d gotten engaged, Foua was not surprised at all. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down is the riveting narrative of a showdown between modern American medicine and ancient Hmong beliefs, a blow-by-blow account of the battle fought. When the Lees left Laos, Foua explains, at least they hoped for a better future. Summary. For more than two years, her doctors had been. The first chapters introduce the Hmong: both the family who suffers the book's tragedy, and the people as a whole. Lia's older sister, Mai, is born in Thailand during this exodus. Summary. 19 - Afterword Chapter 19: The Sacrifice According to Hmong folklore, Shee Yee, the sorcerer who had turned into a tiny red ant and bit the evil dab on the testicle, had spent many years fighting dabs and restoring health to the sick. According to Chapter 6, medical school rarely equips doctors to deal with populations who believe physical illnesses have spiritual causes. Book Details. Write a 350-word summary of the chapter that includes the following: Identify the historical events or cultural practices in your selected chapter. Get all the key plot points of Anne Fadiman's The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down on one page. Chapter 17 - The Eight Questions (Cont. Explain the meaning of the book's title. Summary. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down study guide contains a biography of Anne Fadiman, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. The s pirit catches you and you fall down is cited in 14 different citation styles, including MLA, APA, Chicago, Harvard, APA, ACS, and many others. The Hmong had always been Montagnards, mountain people. Neil is at home when Lia arrives at the hospital. Her siblings grew up around her, part of a close-knit family, some excelling in sports and others going to university. Chapter 11 - The Big One. A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics. As a writer, Fadiman herself moves in and out of her scenes; in some moments, she describes her conversations with Lia ’s. EDSE 460. The doctors believe epilepsy is a pathological process in the brain, while the family believe “the spirit catches you and you fall down”. A pediatrician who specializes in hematology and child development, she is—like her husband—a motivated person who is most interested in discovering the truth. Her seizures normally lasted only a few minutes, but when she didn't get. And it gets worse. You can use it for research and reference purposes to write your. On November 25, 1986, the day before Thanksgiving, Lia was eating as normal when she began to seize. Book review for Social and Cultural Perspectives of Public HealthThe timeline below shows where the character Yer Lee appears in The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. Anne Fadiman wrote a nonfiction book entitled The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, which is the story of a young Hmong girl named Lia Lee who had epilepsy. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down study guide contains a biography of Anne Fadiman, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. After spending eleven days at Valley Children's Hospital, Lia returned to MCMC on. Blame and Power Theme Analysis. In response, Lia's eyes rolled up, her arms jerked over her head, and she fainted. It was awarded many honors including: A Salon Book Award Winner Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for General Nonfiction Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Current Interest Boston Book Review 1997 Ann Rea Jewell Non-Fiction Prize A New York Times. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down essays are academic essays for citation. Like their patients, they have biases. As in the previous chapter, Chapter 18 examines the idea of Western biomedicine as a culture or a system of learned beliefs and habits. Chapter 9 continues Lia's story, sharing events from both Lia's parents' and doctors' points of view. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman Buy Study Guide The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down Summary and Analysis of Ch. The non-fiction book offers a skillfully written depiction of the plight of the Lee family, one of many Hmong refugees absorbed into the United States followingIn Hmong culture, however, epilepsy is known as qaug dab peg, which is translated as "the spirit catches you and you fall down" (that's right, the title). The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures Anne Fadiman, 1997 Farrar, Straus and Giroux 368 pp. A social worker who works closely with Lia and the Lee family. They also established themselves as masterful opium farmers, though very few of them became addicts. Section One: Chapters 1-4; Section Two: Chapters 5-8; Section Three: Chapters 9-14; Section Four: Chapters 15-19; My Review and Takeaways;. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. As a metaphor for this, she tells a story about a young Hmong man who, in a presentation. They spoiled her and treated her like a princess, believing that her epilepsy marked her as special and that she might someday. We might not know much about the Lee children as individuals, but much like the von Trapps or the Brady Bunch, they work best in a pack. Looks like you're viewing this page on a mobile device. The spirit catches you and you fall down: a Hmong child, her American doctors, and the collision of two cultures Acad Med. Lia Lee. The Lee Children. This Study Guide consists of approximately 38 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. The Spirit Catches you and you fall down. A little girl who is part of Merced, California’s population of Hmong immigrants. Answering a question posed to her by a bigoted gas station clerk, she determines (in retrospect) that the reason the Hmong chose to settle in Merced has to do with Dang Moua, a local Hmong entrepreneur and businessman who was at one time a clerk-typist at the. I think people would really enjoy this book. Jeanine Hilt just might be our favorite person in The Spirit Catches You. Chapter 5 Summary and Analysis. In her case, only Western medicine could've saved her father from colon cancer. Arthur Kleinman Character Timeline in The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. The aura, a sense of premonition common to all. Their advice was daunting and they felt her journey lacked promise. The way the content is organized and presented is seamlessly smooth, innovative, and comprehensive. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. Because Foua and Nao Kao continued their pattern of noncompliance by neglecting to properly administer the drugs again, she was once more taken away on June 6th, this time for six months. A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures. Her siblings grew up around her, part of a close-knit family, some excelling in sports and others going to university. The Shared Qualities of Opposing Sides of a Border: How Cultural Relations can Merge Characteristics between. It’s no surprise, then, that things have changed in the fifteen years that have elapsed between the book’s last chapter and this afterword. Chapter 15 - Gold and Dross. • Chapter 6 - High-Velocity Transcortical Lead Therapy. In the Fall of 1986, Lia had a terrible seizure and needed to be. Adorbs! Foua, in particular, takes a strong interest in Anne's life. 47352453. Citation Generator. They now treat illnesses in their family at home. ''. Yikes. In retrospect, Fadiman writes, he questioned this decision, but at the time he was steadfast in his belief that he was doing the right thing. They recognized the symptoms as qaug dab peg, "the. While considered by some to be an illness, seizures are actually seen as a good thing. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1997. Between the ages of eight months and four and a half years, Lia was admitted to MCMC seventeen times and made more than one hundred out patient visits to the ER and the Family Practice Center. By the time Fadiman meets her. Her parents were newly arrived Hmong immigrants from Laos. It was awarded many honors including: A Salon Book Award Winner Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for General Nonfiction Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Current Interest Boston Book Review 1997 Ann Rea Jewell Non-Fiction Prize A New York Times. By far the most common cause of illness is soul loss. Do you feel the author was evenhanded in her presentation of Hmong culture and medical culture? 2. Neil apologizes to Nao Kao and Foua with tears in his eyes—Foua thanks and hugs him, while Nao Kao remains cold. Culture plays a major role in The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. ] as threats," Nao Kao grabs Lia and attempts to flee the hospital (13. Neil is a good dude and a good doctor, but even he fails to look past his own cultural preconceptions and see the Lees as people. Analysis. Chapter 15: Gold and Dross. She considers what she's learned while researching, writing, and hearing reader reactions. Lia Lee began suffering seizures at a young age and was diagnosed with epilepsy by American doctors. S. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down essays are academic essays for citation. Just after she finished eating, her face took on the strange, frightened expression that always preceded a seizure. medical school curricula. May Ying is a twenty year old clerk-typist at the Merced County Office of Refugee Services when Fadiman first meets her. Lia was the fourteenth child of Foua Yang and Nao Kao Lee and arguably their favorite. When he received the call, he "drove to MCMC as fast as he could" (11. Peggy Philp. “Don’t do that, there’s a good boy,” said Martin, addressing the little girl in English, of which she did not speak a word. Lia's parents and her doctors both wanted what was best for Lia, but the lack of understanding between them led to tragedy. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down is a book that highlights the struggles between two cultures in healthcare. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. Lia has her first seizure when she is three months old. 15-16 Ch. The second student was a Hmong, who proceeded to speak about a recipe for fish soup. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down is a book by Anne Fadiman about a Hmong family (the Lee’s) that moved to the United States. Lia neither died nor recovered. Fadiman is skeptical at first: the txiv neeb (shaman) is kinda goofy, and the whole solemnity of the thing is. The fact that it has a divine nature to them and the fact that the doctors see it only as a disease to be either cured or controlled foreshadows problems yet to come between the 2 cultures. While considered by some to be an illness, seizures are actually seen as a good thing to the Hmong culture. Analysis. Brilliantly reported and beautifully crafted, The Spirit Catches You and You. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down essays are. 3-4 Ch. Her parents assumed the noise of the door had caused her soul to flee. What listeners say about The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down Average customer ratings. Dee falls in love with Lia and cares for her like her own. As an outsider, author Anne Fadiman is our gateway into these proceedings. CHAPTER ONE. Shee Yee escaped nine evil dab brothers by shapeshifting into various forms and eventually biting a in the testicles. Between the ages of 8 months and four and a half years, the Lees brought Lia to the hospital dozens of times. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down tells the story of Lia Lee, a Hmong child with epilepsy, whose tragic downfall reveals the dangers of a lack of cross-cultural communication in the medical profession. Home The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down Q & A 1. Thanks for exploring this SuperSummary Study Guide of “The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down” by Anne Fadiman. It tells the story of Lia Lee, a Hmong girl with severe epilepsy, and her family’s journey with managing the condition and the cultural barriers that posed great challenges in Lia’s care. Like Shee Yee, they are courageous and tenacious, and will fight or flee rather than surrender. At the age of three months, Lia had her first seizure caused by the sound of a door. Jeanine Hilt just might be our favorite person in The Spirit Catches You. She went to. The first chapters introduce the Hmong: both the family who suffers the book's tragedy, and the people as a whole. To make matters worse, Fadiman writes, the Hmong believe that many Western medical practices run the risk of harming patients. By 400 C. A feast of traditional beef dishes followed the ceremony. After much debate, a lot of planning, and a ton of help from Jeanine Holt, the doctors finally agree. At this point, [Lia’s sister], who was three at the time, ran over to Lia and started banging her on the chest. 24). ) When the author took Selvidge’s information to Neil Ernst, he said that if he’d thought that Lia was septic, he would have done a lumbar puncture. The next day, the Hmong brought their dogs in so fast that the health workers had their hands full. 1. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman. • Chapter 6 - High-Velocity Transcortical Lead Therapy. Many of Li’s healthcare providers, especially Neil Ernst and Peggy Philip, worked hard to help Lia. Nao Kao, Blia. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: Chapter 3 Summary & Analysis Next Chapter 4 Themes and Colors Key Summary Analysis Three months after her healthy birth, Lia. Her record nearly always noted the communication difficulties brought about by language differences. Fadiman sensed something else amiss in the girl, too, admitting that perhaps her soul really was missing. Lia 's family celebrates her permanent return home in April 1986 by sacrificing a cow. When she was forcibly taken into a foster home, word spread throughout the Hmong community, reinforcing the idea that American doctors are not to be trusted. Nao Kao gained weight and had high blood pressure, while Foua. Analysis. Lia 's epileptic crisis is over. Chapter 14 The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: Chapter 15 Summary & Analysis Next Chapter 16 Themes and Colors Key Summary Analysis Fadiman writes that Lia. The Lees believed Lia had been returned to them because foster care had made her sicker; Neil and Peggy felt that foster care had improved her condition. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance. The Lee Children. The Hmong religion permeates the Lees' life. As Lia is being prepared for release, the doctors tell Nao Kao that she will probably die within weeks. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down . Social Media Book Review by Chirag Mitra ,No 18533168,MPH&MHA, Social And cultural Perspectives of Health,La Trobe university,Summary and Analysis of Chapter 14 of The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman. The Afterword was written in 2012, 15 years after the book was first published in 1997. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down (1997) is an ethnography written by Anne Faidman. Some of these perceptions are. ABOUT THE BOOK Anne Fadiman’s seminal work of nonfiction, The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, examines the myriad difficulties and complications that arise when two radically. At the age of three months, Lia Lee had an epileptic seizure. Best summary PDF, themes, and quotes. Nao Kao gained weight and had high blood pressure, while Foua. There are still "tens of thousands" of Hmong in Laos (12. Confronting “culture” in medicine's “culture of no . Luckily, Lia ends up in the home of Dee Korda, a woman who fosters several children with special needs. The Spirit Catches You And You Fall Down tells the story of treating Lia’s epilepsy, examining her medical experience in Merced in… read analysis of Lia Lee. 1997 Winner, National Book Critics Circle Award - Nonfiction. In which I celebrate Nonfiction November by discussing my favorite nonfiction book of all time, Anne Fadiman's The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down--the. The blogs will allow students to react to and reflect on each section's reading, keep track of Hmong. Yes, including the pigs (after the sacrifice, that is). Fadiman is accurate and detailed in her digressions about the Hmong people and their history in China and Laos. Fadiman begins the chapter with an autobiography that May, one of Lia’s sisters, writes for a school assignment about her family’s experience fleeing Laos in 1979. 1. 9-10 Ch. The The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down Theme Wheel is a beautiful super helpful visualization of where the themes occur throughout the text. • Chapter 2 - Fish Soup. ”. MLA (8th ed. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman. Neil is at home when Lia arrives at the hospital. Summary. Although Jeanine works for the government, she manages to establish a connection with Nao Kao. 7-8 Ch. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down essays are academic essays for citation. Chapter 19: The Sacrifice. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. Lia becomes a minor celebrity at MCMC. Thing weren't quite so rosy when he "used to live in Richmond, Virginia" (16. The Spirit Catches You And You Fall Down Book Report. The teacher's suggestion appears in the narrative as a contrast to the tragic events in May's life. The Orphan is one of the recurring characters in Hmong folktales. For example, the Hmong maintain that each person contains a finite amount of blood, so any blood extraction is viewed as dangerous. It's a bad scene. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman. “The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down” is the story of a Hmong family living in Merced, California and their Daughter, Lia, who has severe epilepsy. Though Lia's mother Foua Yang gives birth to Lia in the United States, she delivered 12 children in her native Laos. The book is crafty in its juggling act between the Lee Family perspective and the MCMC perspective. A little girl who is part of Merced, California’s population of Hmong immigrants. For many American doctors and patients, Western biomedicine is accepted as the default setting. They preferred it to the pediatric wheelchair. After hearing more good things about Cali from his brother, Dang Moua buys a cheap car. Publisher's summary. In “The Spirit Catches You And You Fall Down,” Anne Fadiman provides us with her book about two different cultural worlds and how they collide. This chapter explains how the Hmong figured into the Vietnam War and American troops fighting there. When Anne first meets Lia 's parents, Foua and Nao Kao, she's nervous as an outsider about gaining their trust. Nonetheless, he asked her to marry him. “The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down” is the story of a Hmong family living in Merced, California and their Daughter, Lia, who has severe epilepsy. Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1997. The narrative, told by Anne Fadiman, follows the trials and tribulations of the Lee family as the U. It has sold almost 900,000 copies, according to its publisher, Farrar, Straus. When Lia was around three months old, her older sister Yer slammed a door and Lia had her first seizure. Fadiman notes that many Hmong believe spinal taps are “potentially crippling both in this life and in future lives. Quag Dab Peg in Hmong culture is caused by a bad spirit (dab’s). Nao Kao and Foua arrived at Children’s Valley Hospital after Lia and were troubled to learn about the spinal tap that had been inserted. ''. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures. During this time, one of their eight children became ill and died. The lack of understanding and communication lead to a medical tragedy for Hmong child Lia Lee. Chapter Summaries with Notes / Analysis. Buy Study Guide About The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down Summary Character List Glossary Themes Quotes and Analysis Ch. In response, Lia's eyes rolled up, her arms jerked over her head, and she fainted. What's crazier is that he does, and a mere week later. Taylor, J. Fadiman, Anne. On December 18, 1980, Foua and Nao Kao Lee arrive in the United States with their six surviving children. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down essays are academic essays for citation. Fadiman presents Shee Yee as a symbol of the Hmong people. Neil Ernst constantly questioned himself over whether his uncompromising standard of care had actually compromised Lia’s health. Acclaimed by reviewers, “The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down” won a National Book Critics Circle Award. The Orphan. The book chronicles the experiences of the Lee. The Spirt Catches You and You Fall Down follows the true story of a healthcare battle between a hospital in California and a Hmong refugee family from Laos escaping the Vietnam war over the care of their little girl in 1982. D. Basically, the main difference between Hmong and Western views of medicine is simple—Hmong treat the soul, Americans treat the body. …. Summary 1997 Winner, National Book Critics Circle Award - NonfictionThis Hyperink Quicklet is over 5,200 words and includes an overall summary, chapter commentary, key characters, literary themes, fun trivia, and recommended related readings. Peggy Philp Character Analysis. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down is the poignant story of a young Hmong girl suffering from epilepsy who is caught in the cultural chasm between her family and her rationalist American doctors. Fadiman brings up a program of eight questions designed by. The Spirit Catches You And You Fall Down frequently evokes Hmong history to illuminate the circumstances of Lia Lee ’s medical crisis. In an intermediate French class at Merced College, the students were asked to give a five-minute oral report in French. Lia is the first Lee child born in an. S. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down study guide contains a biography of Anne Fadiman, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. Lia's parents and her doctors both wanted what was best for Lia, but the lack of understanding between them. Having immigrated with Foua and the rest of their family to America from Laos, Nao Kao is a devoted father who advocates strongly for Lia, often allowing his strong temper and stubborn disposition to dominate the interactions he has with doctors and social. From the period of spring and summer 1986, around the time of her fourth birthday, Peggy Philp noted in Lia’s chart – nothing interesting – but for the Lees it was one of the richest periods in Lia’s life. Find a summary of this and each chapter of The Spirit Catches. Lia has another, even worse seizure three days before Thanksgiving, 1986. Nonetheless, she manages to remain reasonably neutral, not blaming any of Lia’s doctors personally nor Lia’s parents, but rather the aforementioned idea that the cultural “gulf” is “unbridgeable. They recognized the symptoms as qaug dab peg, "the. While their children take their father's clan name, Foua follows Hmong tradition and retains Yang—her original clan name—after marriage. Even things we take for granted like electricity and refrigeration are new to them. As a writer, Fadiman herself moves in and out of her scenes; in some moments, she describes her conversations with Lia ’s. Thanks for exploring this SuperSummary Study Guide of “The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down” by Anne Fadiman. Pediatricians Neil Ernst and Peggy Philp—the doctors in charge of Lia's case—keep detailed notes on her condition over the years. ” At this point in The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, the idea of right and wrong begins to blur. They call her condition qaug dab peg or "the spirit catches you and you fall down. . Within moments following the door's closing, Lia's first seizure commenced. This Hyperink Quicklet includes an overall summary, chapter commentary, key characters, literary themes, fun trivia, and recommended related readings. Lia at the age of three months began to seize, the family had diagnosed her with qug dab peg which also means the spirit. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down (1997) is an ethnography written by Anne Faidman. The Shared Qualities of Opposing Sides of a Border: How Cultural Relations can Merge Characteristics between Different. Chapter Summaries Chart. Her older sister, Yer, slammed the front door of the Lees’ apartment. Fadiman reminds readers that The Spirit Catches You And You Fall Down was written in the 1990s and concerned itself with events that took place in the ’80s. Nuland, The New Republic “ The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down changed how doctors see themselves and how they see their patients. When Peggy first saw Lia after the girl’s return from Fresno, she was heartbroken: Lia was hardly alive. Fadiman focuses on the influence the Vietnam War had on the Hmong community in the 1960s and ’70s. 5). Summary. One day, while at a school for children with special needs, Lia falls off a swing and has a major seizure. James Naas . ISBN: 0-374-52564-1. Contrary to the belief that the qualities of one side do not merge with those of the other, however, it. The book contains many Hmong phrases and many medical phrases, both unfamiliar to most readers. Integration and Assimilation Theme Analysis. What had occurred was known as qaug dab peg in Hmong (translated as "the spirit catches you and you. Now we know where the overbearing-and-oppressive idea comes from. This book reveals the tragic struggles between a doctor and patient because of. Best summary PDF, themes, and quotes. "Sooo much more helpful than SparkNotes. 7-8 Ch. ”. Dressing Fadiman up in traditional Hmong clothing, Foua presented her to her boyfriend, who thought she looked ridiculous. Yer, Lia’s older sister, slammed a door which triggered Lia’s first seizure. • Chapter 3 - The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down.