The+Spirit+Catches+You+and+You+Fall+Down

Fadiman chronicles the true story of Lia Lee, the daughter of Hmong immigrants diagnosed with epilepsy in the mid '80's. The story follows Lia and her family through their multi-year battle with her affliction and in doing so highlights the striking differences between Hmong and American cultures. In the process of explaining the divide between medical approaches Fadiman delves into the story of the Hmong's eventual migration to the US and their history of migration and conflict throughout southeast Asia. The 288 page text is being utilized in a writing course as the pivotal text in a unit teaching compare and contrast writing. In addition, the text is replete with modern social studies applicability as well as an abundance of seldom voiced history concerning recent US interaction with the societies of southeast Asia.
 * Fadiman, Anne. //The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down//. Farrar, Straus and Giroux 1997**