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Summary: a moving and beautiful story
Review: an excellent way to discuss cultural sensitivity in the health professio
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Summary: It's a doorway to the other side and not forgetting yourself
Review: This is a must read for people in the med field and cultural diversify counties. It should be a requirement in higher education most definitely! "The spirit catches and You fall" is like jumping into a river filled with pollution and cleansiness, you have to be careful with every action carried out. One mistake and your chances of survival is eliminated almost entirely.The cultural and idealogy of two different group of people come to a clash and the child (Lia Lee) is at the center. The outcome is based on morality or law! Read about it and I give you my GURANTEE, you won't regret a second you used to read it!!!!!
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Summary: Should be required reading for many
Review: As I read The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, my reactions ranged from frustration with the tremendous cravasses in communication to furor at the rampant superior attitude of western medicine. Although many of the medical staff that treated Lia Lee made considerable attempt to understand her family's culture, this is not a common characteristic in most American communities. Rather, the doctors are considered (and consider themselves) all-knowing, and the long standing traditional rituals of non-Anglo cultures are considered hogwash. This book should be required reading for anyone who has the slightest possibility of working with families of different cultures: medical staff, psychologists, social workers, teachers. We all too readily assume that our western way is the best way, and our lack of understanding result in tragic cases such as Lia's, which might have turned out differently. Anne Fadiman's delicate treatment of these medical and cultural clashes is exemplary. The glowing reviews from "both sides of the fence" are proof positive.
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Summary: A must read for people who work with other cultures.
Review: I think that this is a powerful story about understanding people and other cultures. This book also takes the reader into the Hmong culture and gives many insights for understanding the culture and their way of life. A totally absorbing book. Written with a great deal of compassion.
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Summary: Great insight on Hmong Culture vs. Western medicine
Review: A great look at Western medicine versus traditional Hmong culture. The author did a good job of providing each point of view without interjecting her own opinions (until the end). I found myself alternating between being frustrated with the Western medical point of view and the traditional Hmong culture, both of which seemed so rigid in their beliefs.
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Summary: Amazing
Review: This is a mesmerizing book. I was compelled to buy it after reading the first few pages, and couldn't put it down until I finished it. The author has accomplished something really incredible in mapping the two cultures with a seemingly insider's perspective, while consistently showing respect for everyone involved. It's hard to imagine the years of painstaking research, interviews and patience that it took to make this book come to fruition. I'm a medical student, soon to be physician, and I wish I could give a copy of this book to every doctor and student I've ever worked with. Really a perspective changing work.
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Summary: Fascinating
Review: I work with a Hmong man and he leant me this book so I could learn more about his people. I found it extremely informative and compelling - I got caught up despite myself. It doesn't just tell a story - it introduces an entire culture.
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Summary: A fascinating story about two cultures in conflict
Review: Fadiman's book is a compelling story of a family of Hmong immigrants and their struggles with the American medical community following the onset of their daughter's epilepsy. An interesting story on the surface; it is perhaps more important as a study of miscommunication, misinterpretation, and the lack of a common belief basis for working together. Don't look for bad guys or gals in this book, there aren't any. While "The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down" can be read as a study of Western vs. Eastern, traditional vs. modern or scientific vs. mystical, it can also be insightful in prompting us to consider all the ways in which we fail to communicate with others because of our different value, belief or familial backgrounds. As an added bonus, anything Fadiman writes is worthwhile reading on its stylistic merits alone.
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Summary: Best book I read in 1998.
Review: Ms. Fadiman's book is far and away the best book I read in 1998. It's nonfiction, but takes hold of your heart and mind from the first page and sweeps you into the story as in an excellent novel. I'm 53 years old and I learned more about the southeast Asian conflict from this book than from any other single reading I've done. Please read it--you won't be sorry.
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Summary: Moving and emotional
Review: This book did a beautiful job of portraying many sides of a complex issue without placing any blame. I still am not sure how I feel about what happened...I also did not realize the many historical pieces of this puzzle, and even that these people were here at all....what an awakening.
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