One Common Read Selection - The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down

The city of Minneapolis is continuing its commitment to One Minneapolis One Read and its partnership with the Minneapolis Public Schools and the Hennepin County Library.

Southwest High School was picking a common book for students, staff, and community to read before the beginning of One Minneapolis One Read. They participated in One Minneapolis One Read the past 3 years. This year, as time passed, the school selected a common book for their school/community read. They selected The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down 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 understanding between them led to tragedy. Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Current Interest, and the Salon Book Award, Anne Fadiman's compassionate account of this cultural impasse is literary journalism at its finest. The book was first published in 1997. The current edition, published for the book’s 15^th anniversary, includes a new afterword by the author that provides updates on the  major characters along with reflections on how they have changed Fadiman’s life and attitudes.