This book made me care about a whole host of things and people i had never heard of, the hmong. Hmong americans are one of the fastest growing asian groups in the united states, with a population of 260,076 hmong national development inc. To me, this book was gripping, dramatic, enlightening and informative but. Discussion of cultural tensions with the hmong in the us. Influential author discusses how culture clash became tragedy. Aug 09, 2016 t he transition from hmong culture to immediate american culture was terrifying enough, with great understanding. Shamans are revered in hmong culture for communicating with the spiritual world to retrieve the soul of a person who is ailing. What i loved about the book was how the reader could empathize with all sides right and wrong existed in shades of gray rather than black and white. Lias parents and her doctors both wanted what was best for lia, but the lack of understanding between them led to tragedy. The influence of hmong americans acculturation and cultural. The spirit catches you and you fall is a novel based on the clash of two cultures the hmong culture and the american culture. Discussion about sacrifice chapter 9 opens by discussing animal sacrifices in the hmong culture.
Ethnicity the hmong are a distinct ethnolinguistic group that originated in china and migrated during the. Along with the culture clash, the social stigma against the hmong family brings to light a lot of the systematic, moral, and ethical issues that can arise in our healthcare. Throughout the story, they clash with lias parents, whose adherence. Spirit catches you and you fall down essay 431 words. Things have improved a lot over the years as the hmong people have become informed about us laws and culture, but there are still challenges and areas of clash. Ultimately, the combination of the cultural clash in medical perspectives, the underlying social stigma, the inadequate treatment, and the miscommunication hindered the. The book documents the struggle between the small town of postville, iowa, and a group of new arrivals. Book overview 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.
The spirit catches you and you fall down the spirit catches you and you fall down is an intriguing book written by anne fadiman, that tells the heartbreaking story of lia lee, a hmong child, diagnosed with severe epilepsy, and the flawed interaction between her parents and her american doctors. Anne fadiman shows how the situation involving one very sick child went wrong and makes suggestions as to more effective ways to communicate and provide care. Chapter in bookreportconference proceeding chapter. A hmong child, her american doctors, and the collision of two cultures, author anne fadiman chronicled the life of lia lee, born in 1982 to hmong refugees living in merced. May 21, 2004 the hmong encounter when they attempt to access the health care delivery system in merced county, california. What the doctors viewed as clinical efficiency the hmong. Achetez et telechargez ebook the spirit catches you and you fall down.
The spirit catches you and you fall is a novel based on the clash of two culturesthe hmong culture and the american culture. The father in the movie became greatly convinced that the hmong traditions would become overpowered by the american customs, which ended up doing so with his children. Adapting any nonwestern culture to the united states is. Interpreters may consider the story as an exposition on cultural relativism. The great culture clash led to much familial strife and discord in many hmong homes.
Cultural clash this book focuses on the clash of cultures that occurs between the lee family, immigrants to the us from laos, and the doctors that treat their daughter, lia, who has been diagnosed with epilepsy. Six books featuring the hmong community, by sandra vang. Hmong tradition considers most illnesses to be the result of the soul becoming separated from the body because of an accident, a traumatic event, or theft by an angry spirit. In the book the spirit catches you and you fall down, the author anne fadiman introduces the drama that causes a clash of epistemologies. Lubavitcher hasidim from new york city who came to the town to run agriprocessors, the largest kosher meat plant in the united states. The spirit catches you and you fall down is a tragedy. With considerable connected sets of relatives and cousins functioning together on a daily basis, the continue reading the hmong. On my hmong related web page, hmong culture clash, i discuss some of the challenges that hmong people in wisconsin have faced due to clashes between their traditions and our culture and legal system. Some hmong living in the united states may be more or less acculturated to mainstream u. Researched in california, her 1997 book, the spirit catches you, examines hmong family with a child with epilepsy, and their cultural, linguistic and medical struggles in america. Fadiman explains to readers that in the hmong culture, illnesses are viewed as a spiritual problem rather than biological.
When xiong thinks about the clash of cultures, time comes first to mind. By 1988 she was living at home but was brain dead after a tragic cycle of misunderstanding, overmedication, and culture clash. The book has been heavily criticized for various biases, sympathies, and idealization. The author encapsulates the hmong culture in the united states of america. What the doctors viewed as clinical efficiency the hmong viewed as frosty arrogance. Lias tragedy is an example of a culture clash between the hmong culture and western medicine. A twowheeled voyage through the landscape and memory of vietnam the bride price is the spirit catches you and you fall down for hmong marriages, a compelling story of what happens when american values clash with ancient. Meanwhile the hmong culture stressed family, discipline, and education. Hmong culture book collection hmong cultural center. Cultural impasse journal of ethics american medical association. According to one hmong proverb, one stick cannot cook a meal or build a.
American medicine meets hmong in merced story of a familys. The title of the book is translated from the hmong term, quag dab peg, which means the spirit catches you and you fall down but refers to epilepsy fadiman 20. The theoretical portion of the article discusses the concepts of culture, culture change, and some psychological issues that result from culture contact. Author anne fadiman has written a gripping account of a culture clash between a newly arrived hmong family in and the medical establishment.
On this page, we explore some of the problems that occur when hmong culture clashes with mainstream society in the united states. In hmong culture, epilepsy is not so much a disease to be cured as a kind of spiritual blessing. It describes the cultural clash between a hmong refugee family and the medical system in a small county hospital in california in the 1980s. A hmong child, her american doctors, and the collision of two cultures is a 1997 book by anne fadiman that chronicles. Definitely not the sort of book you can read in one go. Nov 12, 2018 this book provides good insight from a person on the outside looking in. As louwagie and browning 2005b allege, culture clash can stymie help p. The spirit catches you and you fall down book san francisco. The hmong, traditionally a closeknit and fiercely people, have been less. Lao hmong culture, as all others, is dynamic and expressed in various ways, owing to individual life experience and personality. Aug 28, 2009 pam, i do actually recall something in the book about the written hmong language being very recent. A hmong child, her american doctors and the collision of two cultures.
Confessions of a common reader 1998 and at large and at small. Hmong culture, as evidenced in fadimans text, is a unique collection of religious and social practices that. The novel captures the tragic story of hmong immigrant parents, foua yang and nao kao, and their clash with. Mar 01, 2017 a rare view into hmong culture and struggles, an important narrative. A clash of western medicine with hmong culture, exasperated by a lack of translators, cultural understanding, and education on both sides. Doctors believe they must do everything to keep an individual alive, whereas religious families, such as the hmong, believe eternal damnation is not worth life on earth. Welcome to the culture clash section in the tragedy of the hmong, a site by jeff lindsay dedicated to understanding the hmong people in the united states, and the tragic events that brought them here.
The writing style is quite verbose and i think some brutal editing would have made for better flow. Fascinating insight into the hmong culture and the clash with modern paternalistic medicine. Lia lee was born in the san joaquin valley in california to hmong refugees who had escaped laos, moved through a thai refugee camp and resettled in the usa. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the us or from the uk, depending on stock availability. Bridging the medical divide innovative hospital systems are integrating hmong shamans, latino folk healers, and other experts from different cultures in a grassroots campaign to improve adherence to care. Hmong people tend to listen attentively to healthcare professionals, but will often avoid direct eye contact because it is considered rude in their culture. The hmong in america social problems faced by the hmong people.
Throughout human history culture has always been a source of unification and alienation, we see this in fadiman book in the form of medical alienation. Hmong american mental health, acculturation, cultural identity and attitudes. A hmong man stays in his clan for life, but a woman marries into the clan of her husbands family. Fadiman gives readers a indepth look at the clash of two cultures the hmong culture and. A story of a real tragedy the collision between two conflicting systems, a spectacular culture clash, with a little. A clash of cultures in heartland america isbn 01560363 is a 2000 book by journalist stephen g. As an alternative, the kindle ebook is available now and can be read on any device with. We met to discuss anne fadimans informative, eyeopening book. The spirit catches you and you fall down wikipedia. Hmong refugees several hundred thousand hmong people took the treacherous voyage on foot through the laotian countryside and across the mekong river into thailand in the two decades following the communist. In her seminal 1997 book the spirit catches you and you fall down. Hmong community planted spiritual roots in merced hospital. Eastwoods film is set in the present day and is a very different story obviously. Email anne fadiman spent eight years researching and writing her book.
The spirit catches you and you fall down explores the clash between a small. Hmong the americans october 25, 20 koeun choi the united states is a country built on the strength of immigrants from every corner of the world. Culture clash books showing 150 of 1,705 the spirit catches you and you fall down. Anne fadimans the spirit catches you and you fall down. Jan 29, 2012 merced was also the setting for a clash of cultures in the mid1980s in the case of lia lee, a 4yearold girl suffering from symptoms of an illness known to the hmong as qaug dab peg the. The hmong are refugees who fled laos in the 1970s after the united states withdrew from the secret war in laos. Other issues such as the lack of education, the trap of social welfare programs, and teen marriages plagued hmong communities and retarded the development of the hmong as a whole. However, the children were growing up hmong at home but american at school. Merced was also the setting for a clash of cultures in the mid1980s in the case of lia lee, a 4yearold girl suffering from symptoms of an illness known to the hmong as qaug dab peg the. 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.
Because of this belief, they try to cure her illness not with western medication but their own hmong ways. A question of what is worth more, the life or the soul, is at the heart of this. Lias parents, foua and nao kao believe that lia has fallen ill because she has lost her soul. A little hmong girl is diagnosed with epilepsy which her parents believe is caused by spirits. The book has been heavily criticized for various biases, sympathies, and. Hmong culture, as evidenced in fadimans text, is a unique collection of religious and social practices that are both unique and alien to mainstream western society. Throughout the story, they clash with lias parents, whose adherence to hmong shamanism conflicts deeply with their own beliefs about western medicine. In their explication of the culture clash, the journalists underscore the role of cultural difference. The spirit catches you and you fall down by anne fadiman. Hmong culture clash and a word of advice to hmong young people and school officials on my hmong related web page, hmong culture clash, i discuss some of the challenges that hmong people in wisconsin have faced due to clashes between their traditions and our culture and legal system. Hmong names is a great gift for an expecting mom or dad, and success that looks like me is great for teenagers and adults. Apr 19, 2016 students book touches on hmong culture, food, diabetes. This book focuses on the clash of cultures that occurs between the lee family, immigrants to the us from laos, and the doctors that treat their daughter, lia, who has been diagnosed with epilepsy. This is a mountain area that allows for a somewhat safe cover.
Perhaps one of the most profoundly documented cases of a clash between two ethnomedical systems and the social and health consequences of that clash concerns the story of a young hmong immigrant girl in california who had epilepsy. Today many hmong people have found their way back to thai refugee camps as the royal lao government continues to harass the hmong culture. Presenting a holistic perspective of the hmong way of life, this book touches on every aspect of the hmong culture, including an overview of their history and traditions, relationships between hmong parents and their children, the rites and traditions of hmong wedding and funeral ceremonies, the celebration of the hmong new year, home restrictions and other superstitious taboos, arts and politics. Influential author discusses how culture clash became. Name course instructor date a discuss the central conflict of the book, i. Hmong people are still inhabiting the jungles and hills of china. Even as an american, fadiman stays neutral and simply quotes the lee father.
Hmong people are first identified as occupying the yellow river valley in china. Qeej curriculum book for teaching the qeej instrument. American medicine meets hmong in merced story of a. Mutual assistance is expected between clan members. Jan 04, 2019 what ensues is a major culture clash with doctors and social service administrators. That page has links to additional topics related to the hmong in the united states, including. A hmong child, her american doctors, and the collision of two cultures is a nonfiction exploration of culture and medicine that tells the tragic story of the lee family and their daughter lia, an epileptic hmong girl. A classic example of the clash of ethnomedical systems. A hmong child, her american doctors, and the collision of two cultures. The american culture was instilling independence, individuality, and the desire to have fun. The title of the book comes from the term used in the hmong. A hmong child, her american doctors, and the collision of two cultures paperback. Spirit catches you and you fall down fadiman litlovers. A nonfiction book about the clash of the hmong culture and religion with american doctors and western medicine, the spirit catches you and you fall down is a popular book that reaches into your heart and fills it with emotions from joy to anger and sadness.
She is coeditor of the book, the psychology of marriag. Once again, hmong culture and identity are portrayed as irreconcilably traditional. Culture clash books showing 150 of 1,675 the spirit catches you and you fall down. The hmong culture and its limitations supreme assignments. A hmong child, her american doctors, and the collision of two cultures fsg classics by.
One of the most important aspects of hmong culture comprises family. Fadiman demonstrates how profound cultural differences and linguistic. This cultural clash extends beyond fadimans preface. Over 100 articles were retrieved from the databases and references. Americans usually express surprise based on the extent to which family ties are evident among these particular individuals. Hmong culture book collection books composed by tougeu leepalao, cultural specialist at the hmong cultural center from 1992present. On this website, i have several pages about the hmong people. Adapting any nonwestern culture to the united states is a formidable task. Somewhat offtopic, clint eastwoods movie gran torino was an excellent film that depicted hmong culture. Anne fadiman writes about the clash of culture that exists when hmong americans perform animal sacrifices in the states. 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, the lees, and their interactions with the health care system in merced, california.
A hmong child, her american doctors, and the collision of two cultures fsg classics by anne fadiman 20120424. Students book touches on hmong culture, food, diabetes. Hmong culture places a high value on family and spending. A reflection of the colliding worlds of western med. Western biomedicine is viewed as a cultural system. A clash of cultures in heartland america wikipedia. Sacred objects, human remains and culture clash sparked a.
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