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In 1982 a three-month-old Hmong girl named Lia Lee had her first seizure in Merced, California. Her parents believed her soul had fled her body; her doctors diagnosed epilepsy. Over the following years the gap between the two understandings led to a tragedy that Anne Fadiman spent eight years reconstructing, with sympathy for everyone involved. Her book became a classic taught in medical schools. She has since written two collections of essays about reading and life, and a memoir of her father. This guide covers all four of her books in order, and where to start.
By Lisanne Swart · 4 books · Essays and nonfiction · 1997–2017 · Updated October 2026
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Quick answer
Anne Fadiman has published four books: The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down (1997), about a Hmong family and American medicine, which won the National Book Critics Circle Award; two essay collections, Ex Libris (1998), about books and reading, and At Large and At Small (2007); and The Wine Lover's Daughter (2017), a memoir of her father.
Where to Start with Anne Fadiman
If you want the famous one
→ The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down (1997).
If you love books
→ Ex Libris (1998).
If you want a memoir
→ The Wine Lover's Daughter (2017).
All 4 Anne Fadiman Books, in Order
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down
Lia Lee, the daughter of Hmong refugees in Merced, California, was diagnosed with severe epilepsy as a baby. Fadiman tells how misunderstanding between her loving family and her dedicated doctors shaped her care, and has become essential reading in medical education.
Ex Libris
Eighteen short essays about books and reading, from merging her library with her husband's to the pleasures of reading aloud and the compulsion to correct other people's typos.
At Large and At Small
Essays in the tradition of Charles Lamb, on subjects from ice cream and coffee to Arctic exploration and moving house.
The Wine Lover's Daughter
A memoir of her father, the critic and broadcaster Clifton Fadiman, told through his love of wine, which she does not share.
How Many Books Did Anne Fadiman Write?
Four books between 1997 and 2017, besides anthologies she edited.
- Reportage — The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down (1997). Read the entries →
- Essays — Ex Libris (1998) and At Large and At Small (2007). Read the entries →
- Memoir — The Wine Lover's Daughter (2017). Read the entries →
- Edited — listed further down. See the full list →
In What Order to Read Anne Fadiman
Her books are very different from each other. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down stands apart as a work of reporting; the essay collections and the memoir make a loose trilogy about reading, family and pleasure.
A reading path
1. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down (1997)
2. Ex Libris (1998)
3. The Wine Lover's Daughter (2017)
4. At Large and At Small (2007)
Everything Else Anne Fadiman Wrote: The Full List
Anthologies she edited.
Open a form with the + to see every book in it.
As editor
2
2 books · 2003–2005
- 2003The Best American Essays 2003guest editor
- 2005Rereadingsessays by writers on books they returned to
Quick facts about Anne Fadiman
- Born
- 1953, New York City
- Father
- The critic Clifton Fadiman
- Education
- Harvard
- Editor
- Former editor of The American Scholar
- Teaches
- Writing at Yale
- Prize
- National Book Critics Circle Award, for The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down
- Books
- 4, from 1997 to 2017
How Anne Fadiman Writes: Fairness and Pleasure
In her reporting Fadiman is scrupulously fair: The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down is admired precisely because it refuses to cast either the family or the doctors as villains.
As an essayist she writes the “familiar essay”, personal, learned and funny, in which a small subject such as a bookshelf or a cup of coffee opens onto memory, history and literature.
Frequently asked questions about Anne Fadiman's books
How many books has Anne Fadiman written?
Anne Fadiman has published four books: The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down (1997), Ex Libris (1998), At Large and At Small (2007) and The Wine Lover's Daughter (2017).
What is The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down about?
The book (1997) tells the story of Lia Lee, a Hmong child with epilepsy in California, and the clash between her family's beliefs and her doctors' medicine. It won the National Book Critics Circle Award.
What is Ex Libris about?
Ex Libris (1998) is a collection of essays about books, reading and life with a library.
Footnotes
Bibliography last verified 1 October 2026.
This list was not put together by a machine.
The notes are all mine,
and the books are all hers.
Lisanne x
Written by Lisanne Swart, who has curated reading lists and author guides at lisanneswart.com since 2021.
See more on her personal bookshelf.
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