Author: Anne Fadiman
Description: This powerful nonfiction narrative recounts the life of Lia Lee, a three-month-old Hmong girl who entered the American healthcare system, diagnosed with epilepsy. Lia came from a large Hmong community in Merced, California, whose traditions and beliefs starkly contrasted with Western medical practices. Her parents, Foua and Nao Kao, escaped the trauma of the CIA-led conflict in Laos and struggled to navigate a foreign healthcare system for their beloved daughter.
The collision between Hmong spirituality and the rigid protocols of Western medicine becomes evident as the story unfolds. While Lia’s American doctors, Neil Ernst and Peggy Philip, focused purely on the medical aspects of her seizures—a physiological issue noted by misfiring neurons—her parents perceived her illness through a spiritual lens, attributing her condition to the wandering of her soul, or "qaug dab peg," meaning "the spirit catches you and you fall down."
This vivid account illustrates the cultural misunderstanding that ensued, affecting Lia's care dramatically. While the doctors' prescribed medications aimed to control her seizures, Foua and Nao used traditional healing practices that included animal sacrifices to restore Lia’s spiritual balance. Both parties genuinely wanted the best outcome for Lia, but differing perspectives on health and healing created a profound disconnect.
Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction, this book serves as an essential reading not only for those interested in medicine, culture, and sociology but for anyone wanting to understand the complexities of communication across cultural lines. A moving portrayal of endurance and complexity, it reminds us of the importance of cultural awareness in all aspects of life.
