The Spirit Catches You and You Fall DownThe Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down
Score Modern
What it's about
Lia Lee was the daughter of Hmong refugees from Laos living in Merced, California. When she was a baby, she began having severe epileptic seizures. Her doctors prescribed a complicated regime of medicine; her parents, who understood her illness as a spiritual condition, "the spirit catches you and you fall down," had their own beliefs about her care. Anne Fadiman tells what happened when two cultures, both loving Lia, misunderstood each other.
Why it's worth reading
It won the National Book Critics Circle Award and is widely read in medical schools. It's a fair, compassionate book about culture and medicine, and a heartbreaking story.
You'll love it if you liked
Medical Apartheid
The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer
Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American CityGood to know
Chapters alternate between Lia's story and Hmong history. It's sad but never sensational.
By the numbers
- Readers82 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics54 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Bestseller23 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
- #2 of the 11 faith books we rank
- #95 of the 290 memoirs and biographies we rank
- #255 of the 1,573 modern books we rank
- #506 of the 2,816 books we rank
Why it made the list
Reads as
True story
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Quick answers
Is The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down worth reading?
Yes. It won the National Book Critics Circle Award and is widely read in medical schools. It ranks #506 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 78.4 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down about?
Lia Lee was the daughter of Hmong refugees from Laos living in Merced, California. When she was a baby, she began having severe epileptic seizures. Her doctors prescribed a complicated regime of medicine; her parents, who understood her illness as a spiritual condition, "the spirit catches you and you fall down," had their own beliefs about her care. Anne Fadiman tells what happened when two cultures, both loving Lia, misunderstood each other.
How long does it take to read The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down?
About 9 hours (352 pages), or about 3 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What awards has The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down won?
NBCC Award (Nonfiction) winner (1997).
What should I read after The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down?
If you liked it, try Medical Apartheid by Harriet A. Washington, The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee or Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond.