Chosen by: Jessica
Location: Loring Pasta Bar in Dinkeytown
I can't be sure about when we met. I never wrote anything down for this entry, so I'm guessing it was Feb or spring of '02. Anyway, the ambiance of the Loring Pasta Bar is warm, hip and beautiful. I love that we chose to go there.
The conversation for this book was one of the better ones we've had. We all loved it. This true story is about Lia Lee, a Hmong girl born in 1981 with Epilepsy to a family of recent Hmong immigrants. Because of their beliefs, the family thinks that the disease was caused by the spirits and try to cure her with not western medicine but with their own Hmong ways. There is a huge misunderstanding between the doctors and the family and I've read some things that her doctors have written. One quote is that "we failed Lia". The American doctors had a difficult time seeing things from the family's point of view and the family was very resistant to western medicine. Being nurses, like a lot of us are, it was completely eye-opening and intriguing not to mention heart-breaking to get a look into Lia's tragic life. This American author does an amazing job of telling Lia's story from both points of view, the Hmong culture vs. western medicine. Also, living in St. Paul, we do actually have one of the largest Hmong populations in the country, second to northern California I believe. We, as a community, and as health care workers need to learn about and be open minded to this population of people, who's ways, although different than ours, are right and therapeutic for them. Working together to bridge the gap between the misunderstandings of our cultures and meeting in the middle can bring balance. Great book and great job by this author.
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