Anne Fadiman, author of "The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down," spoke at Spingold Theater Center. First-year students, Orientation leaders, and Brandeis staff and faculty filled the auditorium to capacity for her address and then ask questions about the book which they were given by Brandeis to read during the summer. Fadiman message was to bridge cultural barriers.

"After the meetings with the families we would have what we would call 'in the car,' and in the car was my cultural debriefing and education. I would ask my translator to explain all of the things that she had translated word for word but that were still utterly puzzling," Fadiman said.

Fadiman emphasized the importance of recognizing that there are cultural differences between people such as the one that she said existed in her book between the Lee family and the Hospital staff that were treating their daughter, Lia, for epilepsy.

Fadiman emphasized finding common ground with people who are different. She described a Venn-diagram as an example of two different cultures. She said that unless people are willing to venture out the edge of their own circle they will never get to the part where the two circles intercept.

"In our nation, people who wear turbans, have Eastern last names, or worship in a Mosque are being attacked. And, it is because we are retreating to the center of our culture and are too scared to be at the edge. And whether it is relationships with people who practice another religion or relationships with people whom we wish to be friends with, but who simply seem different from us and we can't venture out to the edge we will never find common ground."

"I got a more complimentary understanding of the relationship of the book and the author," Wayne Mak '06 said after the Fadiman's speech.

Students were allowed to ask Fadiman questions afterward.

"This book chose me and I did not chose it," she told the audience.

Fadiman described the eight-year process of her writing the book. It started as a late addition proposal for an article for the New Yorker Magazine. It was the only topic on her proposed list that she didn't know anything about and much to her surprise it was the only one accepted by the editors.

She decided to quit her job at Life Magazine and pursue the story full time.

After submitting her first of three segments to the New Yorker, the editor who originally approved the article was fired and her article was rejected. Not wanting the story to get lost, Fadiman pursued it further and eventually published the book.

Fadiman's appearance at the annual New Student Forum, which brings a new writer to Brandeis each year, was sponsored by the endowment from Helen and Philip Brecher Fund.