Fadiman's writings consider a doctor-patient relationship that I had never before imagined possible. I can't fathom how frustrating it must be for a doctor to be unable to provide adequate care on the basis of cultural beliefs that he or she does not understand. Beyond frustration, the physician must feel pain for the patient in knowing that western medical practices are scientifically proven to cure or treat many of the problems for which Hmong culture has other treatments. These treatments, which I assume are backed by very little, if any, scientific knowledge or research, are focused on healing the soul and preventing its capture by evil spirits. While it seems reasonable, albeit unfair, that western doctors attribute these bizarre treatments to ignorance or lack of care for their people, doing so is certainly offensive to Hmong spiritual beliefs, and only further contributes to the idea that Fadiman cites in which the Hmong believe that physicians are trying to kill them. Ignorance can account for some of the enormous incongruity between our beliefs and theirs, specifically in their reluctance to consent to post-mortem organ donation of dying family members, since they know nothing about human anatomy because of their custom of burying bodies untouched. While it seems obvious to us that organs in humans would be similar to those in other mammals, especially large ones, we cannot presume that all cultures could deduce this. However, as a strong supporter of organ donation (given that my organs are useless to me once I'm dead), I cannot seem to let this one go. While I have heard outrageous proclamations of conspiracy in hospitals in which doctors "try less hard" to save the lives of those with extensive acute trauma who are registered as organ donors, I find this accusation sickening. I cannot believe that there is one single doctor, let alone an entire ER trauma team, that would commit such a heinous act. As a result, I can't pull myself to empathize with the Hmong who believe that organ donation is a death sentence. On the other hand, I'd hate to say that I'm not accepting of their spiritual beliefs, so it seems that this massive cultural gap is one that I cannot currently overcome.