The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down
A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures
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The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down
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Narrated by:
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Pamela Xiong
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Written by:
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Anne Fadiman
About this listen
Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction
When 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 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 and 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.
©1997 Anne Fadiman, Afterword copyright 2012 by Anne Fadiman (P)2015 Audible Inc.What listeners say about The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Faye
- 2021-05-09
yeah I cried at the end
I did not expect to finish this book as fast as I did, great narration and an interesting story
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Polyana
- 2019-04-12
And Incredible Read
This was one of the most comprehensive accounts of a medical, cultural, historical and spiritual clash I’ve read thus far. It was beautifully written and researched. I found myself empathizing with almost every character and my perspective has changed on what it means to provide good health care.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Victoire M.
- 2017-11-08
Great listen except for the narrator
As many have said, the narrator leaves a lot to be desired. She mispronounces words like "appliqué" (she calls it "appleek") and says "amino" instead of "amnio". She also has no idea how to pronounce plural possessives - she says things like "cowses" instead of "cows'" every few minutes. Did no one proof-listen to this book?
Besides the performance, I think the story is captivating and a must-listen for anthropology students, nursing students, or med students.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- AmazonUser
- 2019-10-01
fantastic narrative, thought provoking plot
I initially had to read this for school and I've always wanted to give audible a shot. I loved it and will be keeping my subscription. The narration for this was incredible and the story was really really thought provoking. If issues of power and oppression, ethnocentrism, and scrutiny of our systems interests you, you will love this book.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jules9
- 2022-05-26
The narrator is Hmong
This is an important case study and the book is well written. At first, I was annoyed by the narrator and the various mispronunciations and additional possessives. But then I learned that she is Hmong and it didn't bother me anymore. Great book, highly recommend!
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