The
Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat: and Other Clinical Tales – Oliver Sacks
(1985)
Having seen this book referenced in
several of my recent reads, I put a request for it at my library. The author, Oliver Sacks, is a pioneer in the
fields of neuropathology and the various disorders and afflictions that can
arise due to brain trauma. This book
collects a few dozen case studies, each one describing a different patient of
Dr. Sacks, their mental issues and treatment (if possible), as well as
providing postscripts on many of the patients.
We humans seem to go through life
thinking that our “self,” our “identity” is a rigid entity. People talk about how they have been the same
person and liked the same things, their entire lives. They do this without realizing that not only
is the physical body not the same from birth to death, but that the mental self
is constantly being changed. Sometimes
this happens for the better through personal growth, or life-altering
experiences that force one to expand one’s consciousness in ways never done
before. Other times, it is the trauma of
an automobile accident, or a tumor in the brain, or a bacterial infection of
the spine that alters one’s reality and changes who you are.
Dr. Sacks divides the case studies
up into different sections. One of the
sections details people who suffered cognitive/emotional/mental losses to their
faculties. Others describe patients who
seem to have gained more sensation/knowledge/capability than what is otherwise
considered normal. A third section
discusses patients whose brain trauma/disease affects their ability to
understand their place in time, forcing them to relive old, buried memories as
if they were happening now. This is for
some a beautiful thing, and for others a horrible curse. The last section of this book deals with Dr.
Sacks mentally retarted patients who exhibit deeply unusual mental
capabilities, such as the analysis of prime numbers, the ability to memorize
vast amounts of data eiditically but without any intellectual or emotional
connection to the data, or the prodigious talents of an artistic virtuoso, all
this in spite of their sometimes crippling retardation.
This book was written over 30 years
ago. Dr. Sacks talks at length about the
deep need to understand these brain disorders, especially the ones that cannot
be empirically tested and explored. He
feels that much of neurology at the time was concerned with the nuts and bolts
of the brain without being able to explore the essence of mind that makes us
humans. It is through sharing these case
histories that he hoped other researchers would be enticed to work in this
field, to treat and help those whose minds are damaged but whose inherent
humanity deserves respect and love. Some
of these stories are deeply sad. Others
shine a light on the wonders that simple companionship and care can bring forth
in the care of people who have suffered what is essentially a destruction of
their personal self. It is a great book
and I am glad that people like Dr. Sacks exist and do the work they do. (This book can be downloaded in PDF format by clicking HERE )
(This book can be purchased here: AMAZON )
No comments:
Post a Comment
Any Thoughts?