The title refers to the Hmong explanation for seizures. It's the story of a child with epilepsy, the daughter of Hmong refugees in California and a tragedy wrought by cultural mistranslation. Fadiman, the editor of American Scholar, got to know her loving family and the hard-working doctors that cared for Lia, and gracefully documents the clash between best interests. It's a sympathetic look at the Hmong culture, history and worldview that reveals much about ours as well.  (VNM31, $15.00)