She grew only a few inches, gained only a little weight, and always looked younger than her age. Why do you think the author included them? 3. Next. Hmong Studies Journal, 2004-05, 5: 1-36. Their journey in The Spirit Catches You reveals a great deal about the challenges they face—and they benefits they enjoy—as the younger generation of Hmong-American immigrants. On May 2, 1985, Child Protective Services (CPS) placed Lia in temporary foster care for two weeks, after which she returned home. Lia. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures by Anne Fadiman is an analysis of Western medicine and traditional Hmong medicine in the treatment of a young child with severe epilepsy in Merced, California. Fadiman gives a survey of sacrificial events in Hmong culture,. After hearing more good things about Cali from his brother, Dang Moua buys a cheap car. While considered by some to be an illness, seizures are actually seen as a good thing. Thanks for exploring this SuperSummary Study Guide of “The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down” by Anne Fadiman. LitCharts LLC, 18 Sep 2017. Analysis. When Lia Lee was about three months old, her older sister Yer slammed the front door. . 9). . Chapter 19: The Sacrifice. 19 - Afterword Symbols, Allegory and Motifs Metaphors and Similes Irony Imagery Cultural. There are interesting frictions and incongruities in these places, and often, if you stand at. Chapter 7: Government Property. 24 Nov 2023. Summary. The epileptic child whose tragic story illustrates the cultural divide between the Hmong and the American medical systems. The Spirit Catches You And You Fall Down examines the ways in which people cling to various strongly-held tenets set forth by their cultures. The Spirit Catches you and you fall down. Chapter 12 Summary: “Flight”. Foua and Nao Kao learned to recognize the signs signaling the onset of Lia's seizures, such as twitching. Lia can sense when her seizures are coming. 24). Chapter 2 introduces key facts about the Hmong, which place the Lees' behavior in a broader context. They spoiled her and treated her like a princess, believing that her epilepsy marked her as special and that she might someday. 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. In 1993 social worker Jeanine Hilt dies unexpectedly. Lia Lee Character Analysis. The Spirit Catches You And You Fall Down By Anne Fadiman Summary. Unfortunately, she couldn’t save their only son or her husband. After graduating in 1975, she wrote for a variety of publications, including Harper's, Life magazine, and The New York Times. 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 Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down . Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1997. By ANNE FADIMAN. Chapter 3: The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. Since the seizure happens right after her older sister Yer slams the door, the Lees think the loud noise startled Lia's soul and made it flee her body. Her full name is used only five times in the narrative. Nonetheless, he asked her to marry him. Lia's story becomes the story of the Hmong people, the doctor-patient connection in Western medicine, and the immigrant experience in the United States. Anne, Chapter 1. But the families—who don't trust hospitals or medical staff—are skeptical of her. 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. Foua's husband Nao Kao attended each birth. Analysis. 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: Chapter 3 Summary & Analysis Next Chapter 4 Themes and Colors Key Summary Analysis Three months after her healthy birth, Lia. Free, fun, and packed with easy-to-understand explanations! The store will not work correctly in the case when cookies are disabled. Nao Kao and Foua are devastated. 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). Best summary PDF, themes, and quotes. C. Makenzie Griffith EDSE 460 Denise Hitchcock 1 March 2018 Midterm: The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down It is a story about a family who shows so much loyalty to their traditions and cultures, but it clashes with the strict American “norm” and creates conflict. At this point, [Lia’s sister], who was three at the time, ran over to Lia and started banging her on the chest. Unfortunately for Lia, her parents are in the same boat. However, the Lees become discouraged when they notice Lia's verbal skills have regressed. Downloadable / Printable Version. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down offers an insight into the clash of modern western medicine with the traditional methods and people of another culture, in this case the Hmong. Shee Yee eventually transferred his powers to human tvix neebs, or shamans, who summon his spirit as they do his work. She remarks that, even though these recordings have already been transcribed. Chapter 18 - The Life or the Soul. Incredibly driven and willing to seek out the truth even if it unearths his own mistakes, Neil eventually comes to. Anne Fadiman’s ethnography . The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down moves from hospital corridors to healing ceremonies, and from the hill country of Laos to the living rooms of Merced, uncovering in its path the complex sources and implications of two dramatically clashing worldviews. ISBN-13: 9780374533403. Neil and Peggy 's son receives a cancer diagnosis, and Peggy and Foua mourn together, bonding over the pain of having a sick child. 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. On the other hand, though, their failure to administer Lia’s medications had seemingly measurable negative results, meaning that Neil was equally entitled to wield his. Her parents, Nao Kao and Foua, were Hmong refugees from Laos who. The teacher's language has a rational detachment similar to the tone of the medical notes on Lia 's case. Blame and Power Theme Analysis. Lia's older sister, Mai, is born in Thailand during this exodus. By now, Lia has been seizing for almost two hours. Jeanine Hilt just might be our favorite person in The Spirit Catches You. Summary. After much debate, a lot of planning, and a ton of help from Jeanine Holt, the doctors finally agree. A Hmong mother, Foua took it upon herself to perform a marriage ceremony for the author of “The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down”, Anne Fadiman. At the hospital Lia's seizure becomes more violent, defeating all the EMTs' attempts to sedate her. The family would have called in a txiv neeb, a Hmong shaman or traditional healer, if any difficulties arose. 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. 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. Acclaimed by reviewers, “The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down” won a National Book Critics Circle Award. A public health nurse who makes house calls to provide Lia with medical checkups after her final neurological crisis. 2001 Jun;76(6):620-1. Summary. You know when Lia is there because you'll undoubtedly find her running "up and down the corridor in the pediatric unit, banging on doors" (5. The Lee's, a family that endured hardships, frustration, anger, confusion, and hope while living in the United State's of America. When Fadiman told Foua that she’d gotten engaged, Foua was not surprised at all. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one: ). After spending eleven days at Valley Children's Hospital, Lia returned to MCMC on. Fadiman A. The blogs will allow students to react to and reflect on each section's reading, keep track of Hmong. Illness had come when the wife of a wicked. Even though she had a dirt floor, she would have been very careful to never allow her to. Analysis. The book chronicles the experiences of the Lee. Summary: 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. 4. Preface. Fadiman turns her attention to Hmong history, surveying the origins of their time in Laos, where they dwelt in the mountains at high altitudes in which few other populations cared to live. 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. Lia 's family celebrates her permanent return home in April 1986 by sacrificing a cow. Martin Kilgore Character Analysis. Unlike her fellow. Plot Summary & Analysis Themes Quotes Characters Symbols Theme Viz Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on The Spirit Catches You makes teaching easy. 5 out of 5 stars 4. Lia becomes a minor celebrity at MCMC. As a writer, Fadiman herself moves in and out of her scenes; in some moments, she describes her conversations with Lia ’s. As a writer, Fadiman herself moves in and out of her scenes; in some moments, she describes her conversations with Lia ’s. Chapter 12 shows violence, starvation, and death became normalized for Hmong refugees in a way few Americans can understand. Previous. When the Lees left Laos, Foua explains, at least they hoped for a better future. The Spirit Catches You And You Fall Down Analysis. Fadiman relates a story told to her by a French professor who taught an intermediate class at Merced College. However, he now wonders if it might have been better to keep Lia's prescriptions more consistent so that her parents could more easily comply and so that they would. A young Hmong man gave a presentation about how to make fish soup. Lia's doctors ascribed her seizures to the misfiring of her cerebral neurons; her parents called her illness qaug dab peg. In contrast to the Western view, the condition is actually considered a blessing—many shamans, known as txiv neeb, use their seizures to take "journeys into the realm of the unseen" (3. Foua and Nao Kao knew when a seizure was coming on, because Lia knew. " The word dab refers to a soul-stealing spirit. 2) Title alert! Again, it's important to remember that epilepsy isn't necessarily a bad thing in Hmong culture. The spirit catches you and you fall down : a Hmong child, her American doctors, and the collision of two cultures Bookreader Item Preview remove-circle Share or Embed This Item. He believed her fate was sealed, because everyone at MCMC focused entire on the seizures. The spirit catches you and you fall down by Annie Fadiman is a story about Hmong girl named Lia Lee, who is epileptic. Fadiman is accurate and detailed in her digressions about the Hmong people and their history in China and Laos. She notes the “uphill battle” the Lees faced in converting their apartment—with its humming refrigerator and fluttering TV screen—into a tranquil, spiritual atmosphere. Chapter 11 - The Big One. She would have been live longer with little illness in her body, she would have lived a happier life if the communication barriers got fixed from the start. In the Hmong language the term for epilepsy is qaug dab peg. 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. The Orphan. 1 March 2018. Aside from the medical parts, which are described carefully and objectively, and without portioning any blame, this book is a very touching story of a family coping with adversity in a brave and dignified. Analysis. These questions are used to convey a patient. Chapter 17: The Eight Questions. Analysis. 5 Running Head: The Spirit Catches You and you Fall Down contributied to the developed of postcolonial theory. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down Summary and Analysis of Ch. During this time, one of their eight children became ill and died. Free Summary of The Spirit. Her family celebrated by sacrificing a cow and inviting many relatives to rejoice with them. 15-16 Ch. As a philosopher, Renan contributes to the social work profession and this perspective by helping make sense of the world regarding race and ethnicity and how dominance negatively impacts disadvantaged populations This theory focuses on the. Upset because he "perceived the doctors' comments [. is our MonkeyNotes downloadable and printable book summary / study guide / booknotes / synopsis / analysis for "The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down" by Anne Fadiman in PDF format. It's a bad scene. Lia's parents and her doctors both wanted what was best for Lia, but the lack of understanding between them led to tragedy. taboo: against blood tests, spinal taps, surgery, anesthesia, and autopsies— the basic tools of modern medicine— seemed like self-defeating ignorance. The Spirit Catches You And You Fall Down frequently evokes Hmong history to illuminate the circumstances of Lia Lee ’s medical crisis. It never occurred to Foua and Nao Kao that their children would be in danger once they arrived in America. This chapter jumps forward in time three years since the end of Chapter 13. Anne Fadiman’s book, The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, tells the story of an epileptic Hmong child and her collision of two cultures. Explain the meaning of the book's title. Downloadable / Printable Version. Foua and Nao Kao grow to distrust American medicine almost completely. Anne Fadiman’s book The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, tells the story of the clashing of cultures between the Hmong culture and Western culture through the lens of medicine. Culture, or the learned beliefs, values, and behaviors of social groups, leads to major misunderstandings in The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. Anyway, to everyone's surprise, it's one of the most effective campaigns the camp has. The mood declined, however, when the Lees realized how Lia's mental capacity had declined. The Big One. Fadiman writes that Lia was seven when she first met her, which was two years after she had entered a nonresponsive state (her doctors called this a “persistent vegetative state”). They knew the y wouldn’t approve of swidden agriculture and because the Hmong had sided with the French, they fear reprisals. ) 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. Lia's parents and her doctors both wanted what was best for Lia, but the lack of understanding between them led to tragedy. . Villages are destroyed wholesale. She went to Merced after hearing reports of misunderstandings between medical staff and Hmong patients at the county hospital—the Merced Community Medical Center (MCMC). Regardless, both parents still blame the hospital for Lia's condition. Lia’s parents cared for her deeply, yet this arguable preventable tragedy still occurred. 13-14 Ch. Analysis. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman is a critically acclaimed book describing the importance of understanding cultural influence on health care and health outcomes. Chapter 13 Summary and Analysis. Dee Korda Character Analysis. doi: 10. The even-numbered explanatory chapters often begin or end with a Hmong folktale illustrating an important aspect of the culture. Many of Li’s healthcare providers, especially Neil Ernst and Peggy Philip, worked hard to help Lia. 1. Chapter 9 Summary and Analysis. Analysis. Thanks for exploring this SuperSummary Study Guide of “The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down” by Anne Fadiman. MonkeyNotes Study Guides Download Store-Downloadable Study Guides/Book Summary,Book Notes,Notes,Chapter Summary/Synopsis. The Hmong New Year fell during Lia’s stay at MCMC, but Foua said that it was the only time. When the Lee's settled in the United States Foua gave birth to a baby girl named Lia. 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 communication in the medical profession. By suggesting that Hmong culture. Fish Soup Symbol Analysis. Publisher's summary. The Lee family's journey was indeed terrible, but they and their fellow travelers hoped for a better life in the future. The Spirit Catches You closes with a neeb ceremony—a Hmong religious ritual meant to bring Lia's soul back to her body after a big seizure leaves her officially brain-dead. Jeanine Hilt just might be our favorite person in The Spirit Catches You. LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. Dan Murphy. S medical system battles with their traditional Hmong healing methods. Foua and Nao Kao immediately suspected what happened: the loud sound so frightened their daughter that her soul fled her body, a phenomenon known to them as quag dab peg, meaning the spirit catches you and you fall down. Yet again,. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman. Chapter 15: Gold and Dross. A tvix neeb performed the ritual chant with the cow's head sitting on the Lee's front stoop. Preface. Now we know where the overbearing-and-oppressive idea comes from. C. 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. ― Sherwin B. According to Chapter 6, medical school rarely equips doctors to deal with populations who believe physical illnesses have spiritual causes. Summary. On November 25, 1986, Lia has a severe seizure at home. Chapter 3: The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. Just after she finished eating, her face took on the strange, frightened expression that always preceded a seizure. Although The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down may sound like the debut album from an obscure EDM artist, this little non-fiction book has changed the world in more ways than one. Two cultural assumptions rise to the surface of this section: the first is that the Hmong eat dogs and cats; the second assumption is that Americans only care about money and thus would be unperturbed by the sight of a severed cow’s head on a doorstep as long as the cow had been fairly purchased. To make matters worse, Fadiman writes, the Hmong believe that many Western medical practices run the risk of harming patients. Analysis. Birth. The doctors prescribed. I like shorelines, weather fronts, international borders. This chapter explains how the Hmong figured into the Vietnam War and American troops fighting there. Free Summary of The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. In the presentation, he spent forty-five minutes painstakingly detailing the entire process, from choosing the right kind of hook to go fishing to preparing. 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 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. Lia Lee began suffering seizures at a young age and was diagnosed with epilepsy by American doctors. Her recently-deceased father was a well-respected txiv neeb —or shamanistic healer—who used to seize so. 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. They also knew, in the midst of their grief for their infant daughter, that people. 7-8 Ch. These babies were born at home on a dirt floor. The author of The Spirit Catches You And You Fall Down. On the other hand, Epilepsy is referred to as a neurological. ” Analysis. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman - MonkeyNotes by PinkMonkey. She explains that Foua and Nao Kao, like many older Hmongs, didn’t speak any English after 17 years of living in the United States. Neil Ernst. Read the Review. Nonetheless, he asked her to marry him. The Lees' story takes on a more reflective mood in Chapters 15 and 17–18. The The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down quotes below are all either spoken by Sukey Waller or refer to Sukey Waller. Their advice was daunting and they felt her journey lacked promise. Just be glad you speak the same language. Analysis. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman. . Hmong’s believe dab’s steal souls and cause sick illnesses. In 2700 B. 17). When Fadiman told Foua that she’d gotten engaged, Foua was not surprised at all. 5-6 Ch. Best summary PDF, themes, and quotes. For many American doctors and patients, Western biomedicine is accepted as the default setting. By ANNE FADIMAN. The phrase indicates the way the Lees, a deeply spiritual Hmong American family, think of. CHAPTER ONE. At this point, [Lia’s sister], who was three at the time, ran over to Lia and started banging her on the chest. 540 Words3 Pages. 11-12 Ch. Talking to Fadiman later, she and her husband tried to describe what it was like to see Lia in such a terrible state. While considered by some to be an illness, seizures are actually seen as a good thing to the Hmong culture. Lia 's family celebrates her permanent return home in April 1986 by sacrificing a cow. Summary. 5-6 Ch. , a Chinese emperor named Hoang-ti decrees that any Hmong convicted of a crime will be castrated. Lia was diagnosed with epilepsy at age 1. They haven't been back since. The Shared Qualities of Opposing Sides of a Border: How Cultural Relations can Merge Characteristics between Different. 3-4 Ch. The Lees knew immediately what had happened. By the time Fadiman meets her. Seventeen years later Foua and Nao Kao have continued to resist. Midterm: The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down It is a story about a family who shows so much loyalty to their traditions and cultures, but it clashes with the strict American “norm” and creates conflict for their most prized possession, their daughter. When the Lees refuse to give in to their doctors' demands they demonstrate the historical. Neil admitted that, after all of his efforts and the building of tension before her cataclysmic seizure, he. We're at the Lee's apartment and a txiv neeb has just arrived "to perform a healing ceremony for Lia" (19. At age three months Lia had had her first epileptic seizure—as the Lees put it, ``the spirit catches you and you fall down. 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. 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. Lia Lee was born in central California’s Merced Community Medical Center (MCMC) in July 1982. Summary. The. Within moments following the door's closing, Lia's first seizure commenced. Dressing Fadiman up in traditional Hmong clothing, Foua presented her to her boyfriend, who thought she looked ridiculous. Share to Twitter. While working at a Hmong refugee camp in Thailand, Conquergood hosted a parade "led by three important characters from Hmong folktales" that also conveyed some very useful medical information (4. 17). Share to Pinterest. 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. Illness had come when the wife of a wicked god named Nyong laid an egg full of dabs. 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. 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,. Fadiman is skeptical at first: the txiv neeb (shaman) is kinda goofy, and the whole solemnity of the thing is. "TheBestNotes on The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down ". Neil is at home when Lia arrives at the hospital. Her medical chart from this time describes her as a female Hmong child well known to the facility. Due to the diligent research and interviewing by the author, the reader is privy to all. In Fadiman’s unbiased book I learned that there are many cultural differences betweenThe Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down has been shown to facilitate important discussions about health disparities as well as serve as a teaching tool to better engage a broader dialogue (Fadiman, 1997; Lie et al. Born in New York, Fadiman grew up in southern California, the setting of The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, and in Connecticut. Although The Spirit Catches You is all about Lia, there's not much actually about Lia within its. • Chapter 1 - Birth. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down The two cultures 1. 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. When Lia returns home the family is overjoyed to have her in their beds once again. Find a summary of this and each chapter of The Spirit Catches. Although this book has been incorporated into standard curriculum in the university and medical school training settings, consideration of how The Spirit. Although Dee follows "the anticonvulsant prescriptions to the letter," Lia continues to have seizures—more frequently than she did at home, in fact. 2 pages at 400 words per page) It is no surprise that Fadiman obsessed over the idea that the gulf between Hmong culture and Western medicine might be “unbridgeable,” since the very aim of The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down is to examine the missed avenues of communication in a disastrous instance of cross-cultural misunderstanding. 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. Fadiman relates a story told to her by a French professor who taught an intermediate class at Merced College. Adorbs! Foua, in particular, takes a strong interest in Anne's life. 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. Fadiman's father is Clifton. They're only accessible on tablets, laptops, or desktop computers, so check them out on a compatible device. 5 out of 5. Lia has another, even worse seizure three days before Thanksgiving, 1986. translating literally to “the spirit catches you and you fall down. The Spirit Catches You And You Fall Down Book Report. Even worse, the Hmong have lost their prized "self-sufficiency" (10. There is a moment of final suspense when Nao Kao tries to take Lia from the hospital before she is discharged. The family lived in a refugee camp in California, and Lia’s parents treated her with traditional Hmong remedies. Chapter 10 - War. Both Hmong patients and Western doctors have biases about one another. Chapter 17 - The Eight Questions. Although Dee follows "the anticonvulsant prescriptions to the letter," Lia continues to have seizures—more frequently than she did at home, in fact. Summary. You'd think Saran Wrap would be less tough to navigate than, say, a brick wall. EDSE 460. Lia’s parents cared for her deeply, yet this arguable preventable tragedy still occurred. Lia was diagnosed with epilepsy at age 1. 1997 Winner, National Book Critics Circle Award - Nonfiction. At the age of three months, Lia Lee had an epileptic seizure. Cultural and geographical borders within any society are believed to create boundaries that limit similarities between those on opposite sides. 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. A little girl who is part of Merced, California’s population of Hmong immigrants. Get all the key plot points of Anne Fadiman's The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down on one page. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman Buy Study Guide The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down Quotes and Analysis Dan had no way of knowing that. Now we know where the overbearing-and-oppressive idea comes from. S. Nothing like medical problems and totally opposite cultures to show you how messed up things. By far the most common cause of illness is soul loss. The narrative, told by Anne Fadiman, follows the trials and tribulations of the Lee family as the U. Analysis. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down is the story of a Hmong Family, the Lees, their journey to America, and their struggles following their immigration. Lia neither died nor recovered. The office in his home—where Fadiman stays while conducting her research—is full of ethnographies of. 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. We might not know much about the Lee children as individuals, but much like the von Trapps or the. The even-numbered explanatory chapters often begin or end with a Hmong folktale illustrating an important aspect of the culture. Way to conquer, um, incorrect stereotypes about medicine. The Lee family was convinced that the door's slamming had been so frightening as to make Lia's soul fly away. By now, Lia has been seizing for almost two hours. Analysis. Bill didn’t assign blame to Neil for not catching the sepsis. Medical, Racist, and Colonial Constructions of Power: Creating the Asian American Patient and the Cultural Citizen in Anne Fadiman’s . Lia's parents and her doctors both wanted what was best for Lia, but the lack of understanding between them led to tragedy. Anne Fadiman celebrates the complexity and the individuality of the human interactions that make up the practice of medicine while simultaneously pointing out directions for change and breaking. They also still celebrated only Hmong holidays, only practiced Hmong religion, and only ate Hmong food. When the Lees refuse to give in to their doctors' demands they demonstrate the historical. The aura, a sense of premonition common to all. Summary 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. "The spirit catches you and you fall down" is the literal translation of the Hmong name for epilepsy, qaug dab peg. Many of Li’s healthcare providers, especially Neil Ernst and Peggy Philip, worked hard to help Lia. Lia has another, even worse seizure three days before Thanksgiving, 1986. Foua carried her in a large, embroidered nyias, or baby carrier, preferring it to the wheelchair provided by the Merced County Health Department. Jeanine takes thorough notes about Lia’s circumstances, notes that Fadiman draws upon extensively to illustrate the specifics of the young girl’s story. 1. Fadiman sensed something else amiss in the girl, too, admitting that perhaps her soul really was missing. There is a moment of final suspense when Nao Kao tries to take Lia from the hospital before she is discharged. 7-8 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.