Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down
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Average rating4.1
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down explores the clash between a small county hospital in California and a refugee family from Laos over the care of Lia Lee, a Hmong child diagnosed with severe epilepsy. Lia's parents and her doctors both wanted what was best for Lia, but the lack of understanding between them led to tragedy. Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Current Interest, and the Salon Book Award, Anne Fadiman's compassionate account of this cultural impasse is literary journalism at its finest. -- Provided by Publisher on back cover.
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Very good. Provides much more background on the history and culture of the Hmong than I was expecting and slightly less on the actual “case study.” I think anyone working in a multi-cultural setting would benefit from reading this book.
Summary: This novel tells the true story of a young Hmong girl whose family recently came to America. This girl has a slew of medical issues, but, because of cultural barriers, her family has difficulty communicating with and following the orders of the doctors. This is an eye-opening work that reveals issues in America’s health care system and broader society regarding cultural injustice.
