What I'm Reading: The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman
Told through the kind eyes of a gift journalist (Anne Fadiman), The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down is the story of cross-cultural communication gone out.
I got switched on to this as a vid-libro evolution out of "Gran Torino" the macho-mushy excellent film about the hardened racist who finally ends his days "at peace" thanks in part to his Hmong neighbors.
Focused on the trials and tribulations of a small Hmong girl who suffers from epilipsy, Fadiman's work tracks what happens when the best intentions of western medical professionals and the unique, feeling culture of the Hmong cannot find common ground.
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