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by: Anne Fadiman

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Customer Reviews
Average Rating: Rating: - Eye-opening and sobering As a professional educator who works with Hmong students and their families, I relished the opportunity to read this book, hoping to gain some understanding into the culture and values of the Hmong community. What I got was a fist-in- the-gut experience that left me practically breathless. I finished the book in less than a day - a day in which I accomplished little else. Fadiman knows her topic well and writes with refreshing clarity and brutal honesty. The Hmong are resistant to adaptation of western values - a fact that had long frustrated me and left me somewhat skeptical of their willingness to adapt to life in this country. I now realize that the clash of cultures goes well beyond geographic and language issues. Deeply spiritual and devoted to their families and clans, every facet of Hmong life revolves around the spiritual. Fadiman's book is a cross between a case study and ethnic history. The case is that of a young girl stricken with epilepsy, and her family's struggle against western medicine and medical doctors. The history is a broad ranging but concise history of the Hmong people. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in culture clashes, and especially for anyone who knows a Hmong, or works with them. It will open your eyes. Rating: - Important and intelligent--a must read! I can honestly say that this book is one of the best I have ever read. It is thoroughly researched, painfully objective, sublimely beautiful, and an important cultual study of the Hmong (Hmoob is the traditional spelling)in Merced County. As a life-long resident of Merced, California and an English instructor at Merced Community College, I have lived next to and worked directly with the Hmoob people my entire life. I thought that I knew this culture due to my life experience--was I ever wrong! Anne Fadiman illuminated the Hmoob people and their history in a way that made me truly understand how little I actually knew about them and how confusing their transition into American culture was (and still is). As I look at the Hmoob faces in my classrooms, I am filled with respect, admiration, and curiosity for these students. When I walk across our small campus or enter the local Wal-Mart and hear the Hmoob language being spoken, I am overcome with pride that the Hmoob people choose to live in Merced County. As Fadiman points out, our little town does indeed face cultural problems which arise due to the clash of belief systems. However, this book has done much in our community to bridge the cultural gap that exists between our two worlds--American and Hmoob. Thanks Fadiman for letting us know who we are! Rating: - AS A HMONG AMERICAN The Spirit Catches You and You Fall is a novel based on the clash of two cultures---the Hmong culture and the American culture. A little Hmong girl is diagnosed with epilepsy which her parents believe is caused by spirits. Because of this belief, they try to cure her illness not with western medication but their own Hmong ways. There is a huge misunderstanding between the parents and the doctors that Anne Fadiman explores. Anne Fadiman provides readers with a vivid, detailed history of the Hmong in Laos to their involvement in the Vietnam War to their struggles in America that explains this clash. On the other hand, she also explains why Americans see and felt the way they did about the Hmong culture particularly the doctors. One shortcoming is that the author implies that Hmong Americans and their experiences are completely homogenous, but the beauty of this book is that she is able to view both sides without judgment. As a Hmong American, it's hard to imagine an American who can achieve this, but the author achieves this so beautifully. It's hard to look at something from a totally different perspective especially because westerners are very rigid about their beliefs and have a sense of superiority in regards to other cultures thus I was shocked that Fadiman was able to communicate and understand the Hmong in such a way. She did a great job of digging beyond the surface and really understanding the Hmong people, their beliefs, and where they are coming from. As a Hmong American, I think she did a great job! She talked of things that I couldn't imagine an American even knowing about until I read this book. It's great to know that an American can look at the Hmong culture without judgment and even come to admire it and see some good in it even though it's very different from her own beliefs. I recommend this book to anyone especially those that are interested in learning more about the Hmong.

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