1. The client system‚ in this case the Lee family‚ defines Lia’s seizures as both a spiritual and physical ailment. According to Fadiman (1997)‚ “…the noise of the door had been so profoundly frightening that her soul had fled her body and become lost. They recognized the resulting symptoms as qaug dab peg‚ which means ‘the spirit catches you and you fall down’”(p.20). To the Lee family‚ Lia’s condition was as revered as it was frightening. While a person with qaug dab peg was traditionally
Premium Hmong people
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down - Summary and Reading Log Chapter 1 - Birth Chapter 1 goes through the traditional birthing methods and traditions of the Hmong people. One of the most significant traditions is burying the placenta. The placenta has to be strategically buried in a specific spot under the homes dirt floor or when the person dies its soul has to travel back to the placenta. This chapter also introduces the characters Nao Kao and Foua Lee. Nao is husband and father of 13
Premium United States bankruptcy law Bankruptcy in the United States Hmong people
They believed it translated into Qaug dab peg. What was misunderstood is that quag dab peg were not really perceived as the same thing in Hmong culture as Epilepsy is in western medicine. In the Hmong culture‚ QDP is believed to be caused by a bad spirit called a dab. It is believed that dabs are responsible for stealing souls and making its victims sick. Epilepsy is recognized by western medicine as a serious neurological condition. Although Epilepsy and Quag dab peg may have the same physical symptoms
Premium Medicine Physician Neurology
doctor is summoned to treat an individual of a different culture than their own. 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. Lia Lee began suffering seizures at a young age and was diagnosed with epilepsy by American doctors. Her family however believed her illness was caused by soul loss (Fadiman 21). While at the hospital‚ Lia’s family was unable to communicate with doctors at first due to their
Premium Medicine Sociology Culture
Praise for The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down “Fadiman describes with extraordinary skill the colliding worlds of Western medicine and Hmong culture.” —The New Yorker “This fine book recounts a poignant tragedy…It has no heroes or villains‚ but it has an abundance of innocent suffering‚ and it most certainly does have a moral…[A] sad‚ excellent book.” —Melvin Konner‚ The New York Times Book Review “An intriguing‚ spirit-lifting‚ extraordinary exploration of two cultures in uneasy
Premium Hmong people
In Chapter 1 of The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down‚ Fadiman demonstrates cultural relativism towards the Hmong culture by including very detailed history‚ facts and procedures found in Hmong culture. When explaining the long process of pregnancy and birth in Hmong culture‚ she does not make and claims for or against these rituals. She does not compare the cultures rituals to another culture. Fadiman simply states facts and explains the steps it takes for a woman to give birth to a child. She
Premium Pregnancy Childbirth Infant
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down”‚ a novel‚ written by Anne Fadiman‚ takes an inside look at the Hmong culture‚ their history‚ and trails Lia’s‚ a Hmong child of the Lees‚ medical experience with her American doctors and how a clash of two cultures impacted her outcome. Lia has epilepsy or as the Hmong say‚ “the spirit catches you and you fall down” (Fadiman‚ 2012‚ p. 30). The book focuses on Lia’s care‚ which results in brain death‚ the medical staffs’ actions/behaviors‚ what improvements
Premium Health care Health care Medicine
Fadiman’s novel The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. The terminology and language within the novel clearly illustrates that the novel was intended for readers that have grown up surrounded by Westernized influence. The opening chapter of the novel depicts the typical birth methods within Hmong’s traditional beliefs. The language within this chapter specifically implies that readers must already understand modern medicine with Westernized influence for two reasons. First‚ Fadiman does not give any
Premium Animal rights Pregnancy The Animals
In this essay I will review the question of how the Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down exemplifies the techniques of ethnographic research that we have studied in class. Also I will consider the question if there are ways in which Fadiman could have improved her methods to be a better anthropologist. In the essay I will look at the specific methods and techniques that Fadiman utilized. I will discuss where she conducted her research and also cover how she conducted her fieldwork. I suggest Anthropological
Premium
The Collision of Two Cultures - Implications of Cultural Values and Beliefs on Caring Concepts Abstract This paper is a personal response to Anne Fadiman’s book The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. The paper includes a summary of the book‚ an overall impression of the reader‚ a discussion of three major themes evident in the book‚ and a description of a situation from the book and how the situation could be handled differently using references and material learned in 3020 Transcultural
Premium Nursing Culture Sociology