The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman is simply an excellent read. Fadiman skillfully describes the collision of two worlds, western medicine and traditional Hmong culture, by using the case of one little girl as a springboard to explain the historical, cultural and spiritual background of this collision. As these two cultures had to coexist for optimal treatment, the reader is shown honestly and sympathetically how difficult that coexistence can be to develop and maintain.
For me, the book’s greatest merit is how Fadiman weaves the historical, sociological and anthropological background into Lia’s story so well that it reads almost like a novel. It’s informative, but also powerful, personal and thought-provoking. As a westerner, Fadiman is sympathetic to the doctors, their training and their perspective, but at the same time, she isn’t afraid to criticize them or the Western medical system. This book was highly recommended to me (thanks Charlene!) and I would pass it along with the same high recommendation. Even if learning about the Hmong isn’t high on your list of intellectual pursuits, I found a lot of the same observations and lessons about medical care were applicable to families who prefer alternative and natural treatments, a growing population. It’s truly a must read if you are in any medical field, and a good read no matter who you are. (10/10.)
Oh, good! I bought it at the book sale because I loved Anne Fadiman’s essays in Ex Libris, but I wasn’t sure whether this would hit me the same. I’m glad to have a recommendation now.
I also LOVED this book. As a physician who does a lot of cross-cultural medicine, it definitely changed my perspective some and hopefully made me more understanding, more patient, and kinder to my patients who do not come from the same background as I do. It was just heart breaking to know that if someone could have just taken a litte more time to understand what was going on, things may have turned out differently. I also heartily recommend this book, especially to other physicians.
I found this book a very satisfying read, especially with the elements of cross-cultural, cross-belief communications.
It was recommended to me by Beth J., and I chose it to review for an anthropology class (then, the instructor ended up reading it, enjoying it, and passing along a few books to me! *grin*)
Oh hooray! I’m so glad you liked it, Kristen. Right now, I’m in a really weird place when it comes to my writing — after several years of pimping my words out, as it were, by working as a journalist, I somehow feel like I’ve lost my identity as a writer, especially now that I no longer do it professionally. There were so many things about the writing and reporting process that were deeply disappointing, even painful, for me to experience — especially when practicing the literary nonfiction that Fadiman does so well (it was the kind of writing that I most loved and also found most devastating to produce). But if I ever return to it (or rather, if God ever sees fit to call me back), I would love to be able to see, feel, and write with Fadiman’s empathy and her commitment to the lives of the folks she writes about. BTW, did you know that it took her something like eight years to write this book? That she got married and raised a child, all while working on this project? She’s so my hero.