Anja Mirkovic 04/27/2010 Psychology 195 The spirit catches you and you fall down Introduction: “The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down’’ by Anne Fadiman represents true story of the epileptic Hmong girl and her family displaced from China to the USA. She suffers severe grand mal seizures and eventually becomes vegetative for the rest of her life. Lia Lee’s story was a poignant example that emphasizes the cultural barriers between modern and traditional cultures through
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Anne Fadiman explores the delicate nature of cross-cultural medical care in her book “The Spirit Catches You and You Fall down,” a title taken from the Hmong phrase “qaug dab peg,” an interpretation for epilepsy and its spiritual connections with the evil spirit (“dab”). Through her deep dive into the world of the Hmong people and their interactions with American medicine, her research combined with the personal story of the Lee family and their experience navigating the complicated system of eastern
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The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down (1997) is an ethnography written by Anne Faidman. 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. Lia was diagnosed with epilepsy during infancy. Her family’s opinion was that the condition was a spiritual gift. Lia’s parents, Nao Kao and Foua, were wary of the American medical system, preferring to care for Lia in the
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"The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down" It is difficult enough to go to the emergency ward with a family member and speak the same language as the staff. The admitting nurse wants all insurance information, another nurse/secretary asks for injury/illness history and, meanwhile, the person who needs to see the doctor is waiting in pain. The stress mounts and communication becomes harder. Now, take that same scenario when someone in the ER does not speak the language or know the culture of the
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The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman is a book about the misunderstandings between cultures and the importance of cultural competence. The story focuses on a Hmong refugee family from Laos living in Merced, California when one of it’s younger members, Lia, is diagnosed with epilepsy. The Hmong people believe they are protectors of their own souls and that people afflicted with epilepsy have a sacred ability to travel to the spirit realm to protect their spirit from the dab, or
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about how players and their rituals they perform before a game. The whole idea is to show how two different cultures, American Baseball and the Trobriand Islanders both have the same idea same idea. That idea being that if you change,your way of doing something it ultimately ruin you. Keeping things the same will keep your luck the same. The article talks about rituals, how Dennis Grossini, a Detroit Tiger pitcher, would do everything the same on game day. Dennis would wake up at the same time, eat
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When it comes to personal health and illness rarely do we link cultural traditions and beliefs as the culprit. Typically our society views health and illness as a cause and effect subject. If we get sick it is because our body encountered something that it could not stave off. If we are healed it is because we were able to treat a specific illness with the appropriate cure. Our society does not take into consideration external factors such as cultural traditions and beliefs as causes or cures
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The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down Each culture has their own set of beliefs, values, and traditions. When two cultures come in contact with one another, a few things can happen. The most ideal situation is cultural integration, where both cultures can coexist with respect and acceptance of the other one. On the other hand, cultural assimilation can occur where the minority group/culture comes to adopt and resemble the dominant group. The worst case is a cultural clash. Conflicts can arise
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“The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down” Reader’s Guide Directions: Read the captioned book. Then answer the questions contained in this study guide. Post your completed document to the appropriate assignment box on the course website. 1. What do you think of traditional Hmong birth practices (pp. 3-5)? Compare them to the techniques used when Lia was born (p. 7). How do Hmong and American birth practices differ? 2. Over many centuries the Hmong fought against a number of different peoples
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Paper 1 Reflection Paper Reflection Paper 2 Overall Impression of Book: I feel that Anne Fadiman narrated the story of Lia Lee’s and her family’s life in intimate and tragic detail. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down is a poignant depiction of the struggle between loving parents, hard-working medical professionals, and a very precious child caught in the middle of a tug-of-war. Ms. Fadiman very distinctly illustrates how the collision of two cultures
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