23 Jul Reading Guide for The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman
Overall Impressions: What did you find most interesting in the book? Did anything in the book lead you to try to learn more? What did you learn that helped to change your understanding of the social world? Was there anything that surprised you? What? If I asked you, “What’s this book about?” what would you say?
Thought questions:
Do you feel the author was evenhanded in her presentation of Hmong culture and medical culture?
Over the centuries, the Hmong fought against many different peoples who claimed sovereignty over their lands. What role has this tumultuous history played in the formation of Hmong culture?
What do traditional Hmong consider their most important duties and obligations? What do American doctors consider their most important duties and obligations?
In her preface, the author says that while she was working on this book, she often asked herself two questions: “What is a good doctor?” “What is a good parent?” How do you think she might have answered her own questions? How would you answer them?
How do you feel about the Lees’ reluctance to give Lia her medicine as prescribed? Can you understand their motivation? Do you sympathize with it?
In matters of attitude, what might the average American doctor learn from a Hmong txiv neeb (shaman)? What might the txiv neeb learn from the doctor?
Neil Ernst says, “I felt it was important for these Hmongs to understand that there were certain elements of medicine that we understood better than they did and that there were certain rules they had to follow with their kids’ lives.” Why didn’t this message get through to the Lees? If you were Neil, would you feel this way too?
Questions are from: http://www.spiritcatchesyou.com/index.htm
Make sure you include
• A full reference citation for this book. • Your name. • Remember that quotations taken directly from a text should have quotation marks at the beginning and end
and the authors’ last name, date and page numbers follow the end quote. • Example:
After the magazine article first appeared, until the 1970’s, “the woman behind the HeLa cells would be known most often as Helen Lane, and sometimes as Helen Larson, but never as Henrietta Lacks. And because of that, her family had no idea her cells were alive” (Skloot 2010: 109).
The papers should be at least 1250 words (approx. 5 pages double spaced). Please use Times New Roman font, 10-12 point.
