Reflection: Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down (1997) is an ethnography written by Anne Faidman. It tells the story of Lia Lee, a Hmong girl with severe epilepsy, and her family’s journey with managing the condition and the cultural barriers that posed great challenges in Lia’s care. Lia was diagnosed with epilepsy at age 1. It was her family’s opinion that the condition was a spiritual gift. Lia’s parents, Nao Kao and Foua, were wary of the American medical system, preferring to treat Lia in the Hmong way. Under the more spiritually focused care of her parents, Lia continued to have severe seizures; at the age of 4 ½, she slipped into a coma that would last the rest of her life. This book serves as a testament to the importance of cultural competency

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down is the story by author Anne Fadiman, which explores the clash between a small county hospital in California and a refugee family from Laos over the care of Lia Lee, a Hmong child diagnosed with severe epilepsy. Lia’s parents and her doctors both wanted what was best for Lia, but the lack of communication between them led to tragedy.1The lack of communication due to cultural misunderstanding, mistrust, lack empathy, and poor health literacy led to care being comprised for Lia, which also affected both her parents and healthcare providers.

10. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down revolves around a small child who for much of the book is too young to speak for herself, and at the end is unable to. Do you nonetheless feel you know Lia Lee? Do you believe that even though she cannot walk or talk, she is a person of value? Why?

In The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, there are many different intercultural misunderstandings. A Hmong girl’s life was forever changed because of these misunderstandings and some things could have easily been avoided, had each side taken the time to better understand the other.

Mirror mirror on the wall, who’s the greatest of them all? I ponder over this question as I stare vacantly at my reflection. It shows myself at the age of four, wobbling back and forth like a rocking chair, nerves and empty thoughts racing through my mind as I stand at the very front of the line on the first day of kindergarten. It shows myself ten years from now in a stable job as a successful lawyer on a more busy than average day. It shows me my struggles, my doubts, my anxieties, and my failures. It shows me my successes, my euphoria, my dreams, hopes and aspirations. It shows me my teachers, my peers, my culture, religion, my friends, my mother, my father, my brothers. Myself. I see the world,

Description of Foua Lee Foua Lee was the most striking individual out of all of the characters in the novel titled The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. She is the mother of Lia Lee, the main protagonist of the novel, and despite all odds that were thrown at Foua during the course of the novel, she never seemed to weaken or quiver in her faith or values. This remarkable character was actually quite inspiring, even from the beginning of the novel. She is strong, caring, and determined.

The Outsiders novel written by S.E. Hinton continues to be A literary influence on the lives of many teens. This novel has been translated into 30 languages, and people find personal connection with either the plot or the characters themselves. I connected to this novel differently than most this book takes place on the lower end of the hierarchy and I sort of grew up in this type area I didn't live in such a bad neighborhood but I live very close to one and my dad works in the bad areas of church Hill and I went along with him there was a lot of dangerous stuff in a lot of places and things a kid my age shouldn’t of seen. “You get hardened in jail. I don't want that to happen to you. It happened to me. . .” This quote was said by Dally to Johnny on their way back to the church. This quote was important because it was the first and only time that he got emotional, he was trying to convince Johnny not to go to jail.

Great meeting you yesterday and learning more about Thomasville Heights Elementary School! I admire your commitment to being a transformative leader in Atlanta's underserved communities. As I toured the school, I witnessed how refreshing it was to see the social and emotional learning approach and enrichment activities integrated into the school’s curriculum as well as its culture.

Sometimes I wasn’t expecting for the story to go a certain way everything was kind of a plot twist at the end. I wasn’t able to predict what was going to happen next in the story but I was most of the time close to being accurate. Throughout the story, I wanted to know more and more about bloom and her identity because like this book it is a mystery overall. Same with Damon and where he came from and why he seem to be very mysterious. I don’t have any other expectations for the author but I do think they author created the characters in this book very well and the storyline itself. I’ve never been this attracted to the characters that I had before with any fictional

The Hmong are portrayed as a kind, accepting, respectful, family oriented culture. The only negative portrayal is that they cannot defend themselves even against their own. They need the white, masculine man to keep them safe. An inaccuracy was the Hmong gang. From our readings, the Hmong are a docile, respectful and non-confrontational

As the editor of my school newspaper, the Blue and White, I review the work of the newspaper reporters and help them make corrections to their writing so that they can attain the excellence of a true journalist. Before school starts, I am in the studio helping to record the morning announcements that we then broadcast through the school TVs. I write articles for the school paper, update the school's social media accounts, photograph school events, and more.

Our protagonist is Maya, an Ethiopian girl who is seventeen years old. Her mom passed away when she was eight years old, and her father is a successful business owner who she has a strong relationship with. Her father remarried when Maya was twelve and her stepmom has two sons and two daughters of her own. At the beginning of their journey, as legal-immigrants from Ethiopia, Maya and her family are stepping off the plane in Dallas, Texas. Soon after they get settled, Maya gets placed into an eleventh grade classroom at Centennial High School. Maya comes into the school year when her english class is analyzing the book Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. Throughout the unit, Maya realizes her classmates and teachers level of ignorance about various African cultures. In class, Maya expresses her thoughts on how the Western culture views what she has grown to be accustomed to, as something that is misguided. They view it as such, simply because it is not similar to their own culture. Furthermore, as time progresses, she sees her dad, a previously successful business owner, struggling to make ends meet in the land of endless opportunities. Maya has always had a passion for writing, and as the school year progresses, her english teacher, Mrs. Madison recognizes her talent as a young writer.

Hayao Miyazaki’s oscar award winning Spirited Away was the first Japanese anime film to win an Oscar. To see how this animated feature film won this grand award, this paper will talk about the writing, music, and sound design of this film.

As a hospital chaplain, I occasionally led the weekly group meetings about spirituality on the Psych Unit. One week, a resident named Dee joined us. Dee shared that she did not believe there could possibly be a God because if God was real, then she would never have felt as lonely as she did at the deepest point in her depression. As she shared, I was overwhelmed by the pain and alienation she felt. Yet, the Holy Spirit drew her toward us this morning. While in that room, surrounded by people like Dee, who chose to share their faith journey and support one another, we bore witness to God’s presence in Dee’s life.

There has been much through the years and especially this past year that we have been given the chance to learn and I am really thankful for it all. There have been many tests, quizzes, exams, and PBL projects that we have had to do. In every subject there has been many assignments and things that we have had to do. There have been highlights in every subject that have stood out to me. This year and for the past years we have worked a lot in every subject and for mostly everyone, our work shows it, and there has been many good things that we have learned, been challenged in, been nurtured by the Spirit, and been encouraged in through obedience to Jesus Christ.