1. "Dan had no way of knowing that Foua and Nao Kao had already diagnosed their daughter's problem as the illness where the spirit catches you and you fall down. Foua and Nao Kao had no way of knowing that Dan had diagnosed it as epilepsy, the most common of all neurological disorders. Each had accurately noted the same symptoms, but Dan would have been surprised to hear that they were caused by soul loss, and Lia's parents would have been surprised to hear that they were caused by an electrochemical storm inside their daughter's head that had been stirred up by the misfiring of aberrant brain cells(Fadiman 28)."
-This quote was the issue throughout the whole book. The problem of not speaking the same language really had a big affect on how they took care of Lia (The sick child).
2."If they continue to press their patients to comply with a regimen that, from the Hmong vantage, is potentially harmful, they may find themselves, to their horror, running up against that stubborn strain in the Hmong character which for thousands of years has preferred death to surrender (Fadiman 51)."
-This quote is important because it portrayed the long standing conflict between the American doctors and the Hmong parents.
3."The differences are no longer about beliefs. The differences are about power. Doctors have power to call the police and to access state power which Hmong parents do not have" (Fadiman 84).
-This quote has a big importance because it showed that Neil had all the power to call the Child Protective Service to report Nao Kao and Foua Yang because they weren't taking care of Lia like they were supposed to. She was eventually placed in foster care after Neil used his "power".
4. "'A little medicine and a little neeb'"(Fadiman 110).
-This quote is important because this was Lia's parents idea of how to take care of their child. The MCMC doctors wouldn't listen. Hutchinson figured out that maybe Lia's parents were right all along.
6. "...I couldn't stop it and she was going to die right before my eyes. It was inevitable. It was just a matter of when" (Fadiman 118).
-This quote is important because it showed that the MCMC doctors were scared for Lia and it showed that Western medicine doesn't always work.
7. "Which is more important, the life or the soul?" (Fadiman 277).
-This is important because this question is what the entire book is about. The difference between Eastern medicine, the soul, or Western medicine, the life. The answer to this question differs from culture to culture.
-This quote was the issue throughout the whole book. The problem of not speaking the same language really had a big affect on how they took care of Lia (The sick child).
2."If they continue to press their patients to comply with a regimen that, from the Hmong vantage, is potentially harmful, they may find themselves, to their horror, running up against that stubborn strain in the Hmong character which for thousands of years has preferred death to surrender (Fadiman 51)."
-This quote is important because it portrayed the long standing conflict between the American doctors and the Hmong parents.
3."The differences are no longer about beliefs. The differences are about power. Doctors have power to call the police and to access state power which Hmong parents do not have" (Fadiman 84).
-This quote has a big importance because it showed that Neil had all the power to call the Child Protective Service to report Nao Kao and Foua Yang because they weren't taking care of Lia like they were supposed to. She was eventually placed in foster care after Neil used his "power".
4. "'A little medicine and a little neeb'"(Fadiman 110).
-This quote is important because this was Lia's parents idea of how to take care of their child. The MCMC doctors wouldn't listen. Hutchinson figured out that maybe Lia's parents were right all along.
6. "...I couldn't stop it and she was going to die right before my eyes. It was inevitable. It was just a matter of when" (Fadiman 118).
-This quote is important because it showed that the MCMC doctors were scared for Lia and it showed that Western medicine doesn't always work.
7. "Which is more important, the life or the soul?" (Fadiman 277).
-This is important because this question is what the entire book is about. The difference between Eastern medicine, the soul, or Western medicine, the life. The answer to this question differs from culture to culture.