The Question and Answer section for The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.
The Hmong traditionally lived high in the mountains of Laos, where they practiced agriculture and subsisted primarily on rice, vegetables, herbs, and occasionally pork or chicken. They believe that most disease has a spiritual cause and can be...
The United States, under President Kennedy, was convinced that if Laos fell to communism, the same would happen to South Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, and Burma. They were eager to support the anticommunist government and to cut the military supply...
Lia Lee was an epileptic child whose tragic story illustrates the cultural divide between the Hmong and the American medical systems. Lia was the fourteenth child of Foua Yang and Nao Kao Lee and arguably their favorite. They spoiled her and...
