The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down

As medical students, we have all come into contact with other cultures. We feel we are accepting people and that, as a whole, we are genuinely prepared to work with those who differ from ourselves. We are open-minded, accepting, and caring. The challenge comes, however, when we run into something we just never saw coming:

1. What do you call the problem?
Quag dab ned. That means the spirit catches you and you fall down.
...
6. What kind of treatment do you think the patient should receive?
Lia should be treated at home with our Hmong medicines and by sacrificing pigs and chickens.

8. What do you fear most about the sickness?
That Lia's soul will never return.

In her riveting, best-selling book based on a true story, Anne Fadiman tells the chilling tale of two immigrant Hmong parents who must navigate the confusing, controlling, and paternalistic American health care system for the sake of their epileptic infant daughter, Lia Lee. Throughout the course of their tragically futile journey, the lines between child abuse, neglect, and pure motherly love are inadvertently blurred by a western world that is unprepared to deal with the persevering Hmong culture.

While I do not want to give away any more of the story line from this magnificent read, I will say that this story taught me a lot about the potentially colossal consequences of seeing the world through a static lens, especially when one already assumes that his powers of engagement in cultural relativism lay above those of the average American. I have always considered myself to be a flexible person in the realm of differing values and beliefs, but this book quickly touched upon my upper limit of cultural assimilation. I was unnerved to find that I was simultaneously frustrated with and appreciative of the Hmong views of proper healthcare, and the challenge of putting aside my own "knowledge" of medicine was a painstakingly brutal lesson in humility.

If you are a medical student, or if you're just generally interested in health or foreign cultures, I strongly recommend this book for your next vacation or free weekend. At a mere 288 pages, you'll have no trouble getting through this one in a short period of time, and trust me when I say that the benefits to your personal growth (and possibly future career) will be worth every moment of likely opportunity cost.