My Lobotomy by Howard Dully and Charles Fleming is a memoir of Howard Dully's experience as a child. At the age of twelve, he underwent an "ice-pick lobotomy" performed by Dr. Walter Freeman. The book follows his life as a child, early adulthood, and into his present day life. It is a New York Times Bestseller, and NPR has done a radio show on Howard Dully's life. NPR's radio show is what set the ball rolling for Howard Dully to write his life story.
I read My Lobotomy in four days (along with the other books I read. I never have one book at a time). I purchased my trade paperback copy. It is 286 pages long. The type was a little small, but doable. I found myself wishing I'd been listening to an audio book of the author telling his story in his own words with his own voice.
The reason I originally purchased the memoir was that someone I love dearly has had a right temporal lobectomy. I misread lobectomy for lobotomy. They are very different things. After I realized my error, I was confused (this was before reading the book) because I thought lobotomies were when the entire brain was removed.
An "ice pick lobotomy" as performed by Dr. Freeman on Howard Dully reminds me of something out of a horror movie. After receiving electroshock treatment, Dr. Freeman stuck ice picks into the back of the author's eye sockets and into Howard Dully's brain. The ice pick was moved around in the author's brain until the doctor felt he had separated various parts of the brain from other parts.
A lot of patients of Dr. Freeman, according to Dully, ended up dead or severely mentally damaged and unable to function within society. He survived the procedure and ended up being a very productive citizen to society, but not without a lot of hurdles, stumbles, and trials.
Beyond the physical recovery, Dully had to endure a step mother who basically hated him, a father who wouldn't allow Dully to live with him afterward, and survival without having been taught the skills to function as a contributor rather than a taker from society.
I give this book 5 stars ***** for several reasons. First and foremost, this a story of human triumph over incredible odds, told in the words of an everyday person. The writing is down to earth and on the reader's level. Although I've never suffered the kind of trauma Dully endured, I identify with his quest to find out why the procedure took place, how his father could allow it to happen, and what he had done to deserve being as less than human.
There are many stories of human triumph that exist in written form, but what drew me to keep reading My Lobotomy feverishly was the sincerity of the prose. I could feel that Dully learned about himself, his family, and life in the process of writing the book. What more could an author want from his/her writing than that? I found myself reflecting on some of the bigger questions of life as a result of reading it.
Yet, I felt like I could walk up to Dully in the grocery store, and I wouldn't think he was out of the ordinary. I'd probably not notice him and pass him by without much thought. My Lobotomy reminded me that there are many people around me who are gifts based on their personal experiences and the choices they've made to become good people.
I read My Lobotomy in four days (along with the other books I read. I never have one book at a time). I purchased my trade paperback copy. It is 286 pages long. The type was a little small, but doable. I found myself wishing I'd been listening to an audio book of the author telling his story in his own words with his own voice.
The reason I originally purchased the memoir was that someone I love dearly has had a right temporal lobectomy. I misread lobectomy for lobotomy. They are very different things. After I realized my error, I was confused (this was before reading the book) because I thought lobotomies were when the entire brain was removed.
An "ice pick lobotomy" as performed by Dr. Freeman on Howard Dully reminds me of something out of a horror movie. After receiving electroshock treatment, Dr. Freeman stuck ice picks into the back of the author's eye sockets and into Howard Dully's brain. The ice pick was moved around in the author's brain until the doctor felt he had separated various parts of the brain from other parts.
A lot of patients of Dr. Freeman, according to Dully, ended up dead or severely mentally damaged and unable to function within society. He survived the procedure and ended up being a very productive citizen to society, but not without a lot of hurdles, stumbles, and trials.
Beyond the physical recovery, Dully had to endure a step mother who basically hated him, a father who wouldn't allow Dully to live with him afterward, and survival without having been taught the skills to function as a contributor rather than a taker from society.
I give this book 5 stars ***** for several reasons. First and foremost, this a story of human triumph over incredible odds, told in the words of an everyday person. The writing is down to earth and on the reader's level. Although I've never suffered the kind of trauma Dully endured, I identify with his quest to find out why the procedure took place, how his father could allow it to happen, and what he had done to deserve being as less than human.
There are many stories of human triumph that exist in written form, but what drew me to keep reading My Lobotomy feverishly was the sincerity of the prose. I could feel that Dully learned about himself, his family, and life in the process of writing the book. What more could an author want from his/her writing than that? I found myself reflecting on some of the bigger questions of life as a result of reading it.
Yet, I felt like I could walk up to Dully in the grocery store, and I wouldn't think he was out of the ordinary. I'd probably not notice him and pass him by without much thought. My Lobotomy reminded me that there are many people around me who are gifts based on their personal experiences and the choices they've made to become good people.
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