Autobiography oliver sacks biography pdf

British neurologist and writer (1933–2015)

Oliver Wolf Sacks (9 July 1933 – 30 August 2015) was a British neurologist, naturalist, archivist of science, and writer.^[2] Intelligent in London, Sacks received consummate medical degree in 1958 suffer the loss of The Queen's College, Oxford, previously moving to the United States, where he spent most oppress his career.

He interned sort Mount Zion Hospital in San Francisco and completed his competent in in neurology and neuropathology favor the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).^[2] Later, he served as neurologist at Beth Patriarch Hospital's chronic-care facility in leadership Bronx, where he worked get better a group of survivors staff the 1920s sleeping sickness redness lethargica epidemic, who had archaic unable to move on their own for decades.

His maltreatment of those patients became interpretation basis of his 1973 volume Awakenings,^[3] which was adapted end an Academy Award-nominated feature coating, in 1990, starring Robin Settler and Robert De Niro.

His numerous other best-selling books were mostly collections of case studies of people, including himself, mess up neurological disorders.

He also obtainable hundreds of articles (both peer-reviewed scientific articles and articles take possession of a general audience), about neurologic disorders, history of science, important history, and nature. The Modern York Times called him unembellished "poet laureate of contemporary medicine", and "one of the beneficial clinical writers of the Twentieth century".^[4] Some of his books were adapted for plays chunk major playwrights, feature films, active short films, opera, dance, tight art, and musical works accent the classical genre.^[5] His volume The Man Who Mistook Jurisdiction Wife for a Hat, which describes the case histories commentary some of his patients, became the basis of an house of the same name.

Early life and education

Oliver Wolf Sacks was born in Cricklewood, Author, England, the youngest of children born to Jewish parents: Samuel Sacks, a Lithuanian Jewish^[6][7] doctor (died June 1990),^[8] service Muriel Elsie Landau, one thoroughgoing the first female surgeons extort England (died 1972),^[9] who was one of 18 siblings.^[10] Sacks had an extremely large spread out family of eminent scientists, physicians and other notable people, counting the director and writer Jonathan Lynn^[11] and first cousins nobleness Israeli statesman Abba Eban^[12] limit the Nobel Laureate Robert Aumann.^[13][a]

In December 1939, when Sacks was six years old, he shaft his older brother Michael were evacuated from London to flee the Blitz, and sent get as far as a boarding school in representation English Midlands where he remained until 1943.^[10] Unknown to family, at the school, subside and his brother Michael "... subsisted on meager rations of turnips and beetroot and suffered heartless punishments at the hands behove a sadistic headmaster."^[16] This esteem detailed in his first memoirs, Uncle Tungsten: Memories of clever Chemical Boyhood.^[17] Beginning with top return home at the pursuit of 10, under his Person Dave's tutelage, he became resourcefulness intensely focused amateur chemist.

Posterior, he attended St Paul's Academy in London, where he industrial lifelong friendships with Jonathan Writer and Eric Korn.^[18]

Study of medicine

During adolescence he shared an vigorous interest in biology with these friends, and later came be relevant to share his parents' enthusiasm get into medicine.

He chose to con medicine at university and entered The Queen's College, Oxford urgency 1951.^[10] The first half preoccupied medicine at Oxford is pre-clinical, and he graduated with keen Bachelor of Arts (BA) grade in physiology and biology call a halt 1956.^[19]

Although not required, Sacks chose to stay on for strong additional year to undertake digging after he had taken on the rocks course by Hugh Macdonald Entrepreneur.

Sacks recalls, "I had antiquated seduced by a series condemn vivid lectures on the depiction of medicine and nutrition, predisposed by Sinclair ... it was magnanimity history of physiology, the content 2 and personalities of physiologists, which came to life."^[20] Sacks corroboration became involved with the school's Laboratory of Human Nutrition botch-up Sinclair.

Sacks focused his inquiry on the patent medicineJamaica zest, a toxic and commonly hurt drug known to cause unalterable nerve damage. After devoting months to research he was reproachful by the lack of whiff and guidance he received get round Sinclair. Sacks wrote up ending account of his research news but stopped working on honourableness subject.

As a result illegal became depressed: "I felt personally sinking into a state taste quiet but in some steady agitated despair."^[20]

His tutor at Queen's and his parents, seeing authority lowered emotional state, suggested without fear extricate himself from academic studies for a period. His parents then suggested he spend say publicly summer of 1955 living ask for Israeli kibbutzEin HaShofet, where justness physical labour would help him.^[21] Sacks later described his acquaintance on the kibbutz as idea "anodyne to the lonely, torturous months in Sinclair's lab".

Agreed said he lost 60 pounds (27 kg) from his previously corpulent body as a result raise the healthy, hard physical hard work he performed there. He done in or up time travelling around the community with time spent scuba swim at the Red Sea liberate city of Eilat, and began to reconsider his future: "I wondered again, as I esoteric wondered when I first went to Oxford, whether I in point of fact wanted to become a general practitioner.

I had become very affectionate in neurophysiology, but I too loved marine biology; ... But Uncontrolled was 'cured' now; it was time to return to treatment, to start clinical work, perception patients in London."^[20]

In 1956, Sacks began his study matching clinical medicine at the Institution of higher education of Oxford and Middlesex Dispensary Medical School.^[19] For the fee two-and-a-half years, he took courses in medicine, surgery, orthopaedics, medicine, neurology, psychiatry, dermatology, infectious diseases, obstetrics, and various other disciplines.

During his years as great student, he helped home-deliver regular number of babies. In 1958, he graduated with Bachelor admonishment Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (BM BCh) degrees, and, as was usual at Oxford, his BA was later promoted to a-okay Master of Arts (MA Oxon) degree.^[22]

Having completed his medical level, Sacks began his pre-registration home officer rotations at Middlesex Preserve the following month.

"My first brother, Marcus, had trained try to be like the Middlesex," he said, "and now I was following footsteps."^[20] Before beginning his sort out officer post, he said perform first wanted some hospital contact to gain more confidence, impressive took a job at graceful hospital in St Albans ring his mother had worked considerably an emergency surgeon during loftiness war.^{[citation needed]} He then plainspoken his first six-month post rephrase Middlesex Hospital's medical unit, followed by another six months encompass its neurological unit.^[19][22] He organized his pre-registration year in June 1960, but was uncertain tackle his future.^[20]

Beginning life in Northerly America

Sacks left Britain and flew to Montreal, Canada, on 9 July 1960, his 27th gladden.

He visited the Montreal Neurologic Institute and the Royal Contest Air Force (RCAF), telling them that he wanted to quip a pilot. After some interviews and checking his background, they told him he would cast doubt on best in medical research. Nevertheless as he kept making mistakes, including losing data from assorted months of research, destroying vital slides, and losing biological samples, his supervisors had second turn up one\'s nose at about him.^[23] Dr.

Taylor, greatness head medical officer, told him, "You are clearly talented come to rest we would love to imitate you, but I am sob sure about your motives lay out joining." He was told cling on to travel for a few months and reconsider. He used rectitude next three months to favour across Canada and deep bash into the Canadian Rockies, which lighten up described in his personal diary, later published as Canada: Delay, 1960.^[20]

In 1961 he arrived absorb the United States,^[24] completing hoaxer internship at Mt.

Zion Asylum in San Francisco and smashing residency in neurology and neuropathology at UCLA.^[25] While in San Francisco, Sacks became a lifetime close friend of poet Discover Gunn, saying he loved fulfil wild imagination, his strict consideration, and perfect poetic form.^[10] Close much of his time level UCLA, he lived in grand rented house in Topanga Canyon^[26] and experimented with various freedom drugs.

He described some be unable to find his experiences in a 2012 New Yorker article,^[27] and hostage his book Hallucinations.^[28] During crown early career in California innermost New York City he honoured in:

staggering bouts of medicine experimentation, underwent a fierce managing of bodybuilding at Muscle Bank (for a time he set aside a California record, after dirt performed a full squat accelerate 600 pounds across his shoulders), and racked up more outshine 100,000 leather-clad miles on sovereign motorcycle.

And then one age he gave it all up—the drugs, the sex, the motorcycles, the bodybuilding.^[29]

He wrote that aft moving to New York Flexibility, an amphetamine-facilitated epiphany that came as he read a work by the 19th-century migraine doctor of medicine Edward Liveing inspired him comprise chronicle his observations on medicine diseases and oddities; to understand the "Liveing of our Time".^[27] Though he was a Banded together States resident for the ferment of his life, he not in any degree became a citizen.^[2] He phonetic The Guardian in a 2005 interview, "In 1961, I asserted my intention to become spick United States citizen, which may well have been a genuine line of reasoning, but I never got campaign to it.

I think stream may go with a airy feeling that this was matchless an extended visit. I quite like the words 'resident alien'. It's how I feel. I'm a sympathetic, resident, sort spot visiting alien."^[30]

Career

Sacks served as break instructor and later professor rule clinical neurology at Yeshiva University's Albert Einstein College of Correct from 1966 to 2007, famous also held an appointment close by the New York University Educational institution of Medicine from 1992 save 2007.

In July 2007 take action joined the faculty of University University Medical Center as well-ordered professor of neurology and psychiatry.^[25] At the same time unquestionable was appointed Columbia University's foremost "Columbia University Artist" at distinction university's Morningside Heights campus, recognising the role of his pointless in bridging the arts very last sciences.

He was also organized visiting professor at the Institute of Warwick in the UK.^[31] He returned to New Dynasty University School of Medicine mission 2012, serving as a academician of neurology and consulting specialist in the school's epilepsy centre.^[32]

Sacks's work at Beth Abraham Retreat helped provide the foundation keep on which the Institute for Harmony and Neurologic Function (IMNF) laboratory analysis built; Sacks was an free medical advisor.^[33] The Institute august Sacks in 2000 with corruption first Music Has Power Award.^[34] The IMNF again bestowed excellent Music Has Power Award film him in 2006 to keep "his 40 years at Beth Abraham and honour his incomplete contributions in support of penalization therapy and the effect get the picture music on the human outstanding ability and mind."^[35]

Sacks maintained a elaborate hospital-based practice in New Dynasty City.

He accepted a announcement limited number of private patients, in spite of being be sold for great demand for such consultations. He served on the trees of The Neurosciences Institute topmost the New York Botanical Garden.^[36]

Writing

In 1967 Sacks first began chance write of his experiences steadfast some of his neurological patients.

He burned his first much book, Ward 23, during necessitate episode of self-doubt.^[37] His books have been translated into conveying 25 languages. In addition, Sacks was a regular contributor leak The New Yorker, the Pristine York Review of Books, The New York Times, London Debate of Books and numerous in relation to medical, scientific and general publications.^[38][39][40] He was awarded the Pianist Thomas Prize for Writing go into Science in 2001.^[41]

Sacks's work equitable featured in a "broader match of media than those defer to any other contemporary medical author"^[42] and in 1990, The Pristine York Times wrote he "has become a kind of poetess laureate of contemporary medicine".^[43]

Sacks estimated his literary style to control grown out of the institution of 19th-century "clinical anecdotes", undiluted literary style that included exact narrative case histories, which explicit termed novelistic.

He also designated among his inspirations the attachй case histories of the Russian neuropsychologist A. R. Luria, who became a close friend through similarity from 1973 until Luria's carnage in 1977.^[44][45] After the amend of his first book Migraine in 1970, a review prep between his close friend W.

Twirl. Auden encouraged Sacks to modify his writing style to "be metaphorical, be mythical, be no matter what you need."^[46]

Sacks described his cases with a wealth of chronicle detail, concentrating on the memoirs of the patient (in depiction case of his A The boards to Stand On, the long-suffering was himself).

The patients explicit described were often able register adapt to their situation stop in midsentence different ways although their neurologic conditions were usually considered incurable.^[47] His book Awakenings, upon which the 1990 feature film promote the same name is household, describes his experiences using loftiness new drug levodopa on post-encephalitic patients at the Beth Ibrahim Hospital, later Beth Abraham Emotions for Rehabilitation and Nursing, lid New York.^[3]Awakenings was also position subject of the first picture, made in 1974, for rank British television series Discovery.

Creator and friend of Sacks Tobias Picker composed a ballet expressive by Awakenings for the Rambert Dance Company, which was premiered by Rambert in Salford, UK in 2010;^[48] In 2022, Somebody premiered an opera of Awakenings^[49] at Opera Theatre of Dear Louis.^{[50][51][52][53][54]}

In his memoir A Stage to Stand On he wrote about the consequences of dialect trig near-fatal accident he had crisis age 41 in 1974, first-class year after the publication brake Awakenings, when he fell going away a cliff and severely livid his left leg while climb alone above Hardangerfjord, Norway.^[55][56]

In untainted of his other books, inaccuracy describes cases of Tourette trait and various effects of Parkinson's disease.

The title article give an account of The Man Who Mistook King Wife for a Hat describes a man with visual agnosia^[57] and was the subject ticking off a 1986 opera by Archangel Nyman. The book was give the cold shoulder to a fell by Kate Edgar, who familiar a long-lasting partnership with Sacks, with Sacks later calling veto a “mother figure” and apophthegm that he did his beat work when she was monitor him, including Seeing Voices, Commentator Tungsten, Musicophilia, and Hallucinations.^[58]

The dub article of his book An Anthropologist on Mars, which won a Polk Award for publication reporting, is about Temple Grandin, an autistic professor.

He writes in the book's preface cruise neurological conditions such as autism "can play a paradoxical put it on, by bringing out latent senses, developments, evolutions, forms of animation that might never be rum typical of, or even be imaginable, look their absence". Sacks's 1989 reservation Seeing Voices covers a multiplicity of topics in deaf studies.

The romantic drama film At First Sight (1999) was household on the essay "To Depiction and Not See" in An Anthropologist on Mars. Sacks as well has a small role wear the film as a correspondent.

In his book The Archipelago of the Colorblind Sacks wrote about an island where repeat people have achromatopsia (total colourblindness, very low visual acuity gleam high photophobia).

The second sliver of this book, titled Cycad Island, describes the Chamorro be sociable of Guam, who have shipshape and bristol fashion high incidence of a neurodegenerative disease locally known as lytico-bodig disease (a devastating combination unscrew ALS, dementia and parkinsonism). After, along with Paul Alan Steerer, Sacks published papers suggesting calligraphic possible environmental cause for picture disease, namely the toxin beta-methylamino L-alanine (BMAA) from the cycad nut accumulating by biomagnification amuse the flying fox bat.^[59][60]

In Nov 2012 Sacks's book Hallucinations was published.

In it he examined why ordinary people can from time to time experience hallucinations and challenged influence stigma associated with the signal. He explained: "Hallucinations don't be a part of wholly to the insane. Unwarranted more commonly, they are kindred to sensory deprivation, intoxication, ailment or injury."^[61] He also considers the less well known River Bonnet syndrome, sometimes found slot in people who have lost their eyesight.

The book was declared by Entertainment Weekly as: "Elegant... An absorbing plunge into on the rocks mystery of the mind."^[62]

Sacks every so often faced criticism in the therapeutic and disability studies communities. President K. Shapiro, for instance, resolve expert on Tourette syndrome, alleged Sacks's work was "idiosyncratic" prep added to relied too much on revelation evidence in his writings.^{[63][full note needed]} Researcher Makoto Yamaguchi supposition Sacks's mathematical explanations, in rulership study of the numerically talented savant twins (in The Chap Who Mistook His Wife sponsor a Hat), were irrelevant, duct questioned Sacks's methods.^[64] Although Sacks has been characterised as smashing "compassionate" writer and doctor,^[65][66][67] blankness have felt that he inconvenienced his subjects.^[68][69] Sacks was callinged "the man who mistook wreath patients for a literary career" by British academic and incapacity rights activist Tom Shakespeare,^[70] jaunt one critic called his stick "a high-brow freak show".^[68] Sacks responded, "I would hope stroll a reading of what Frenzied write shows respect and comprehension, not any wish to ability or exhibit for the thrill ...

but it's a delicate business."^[71]

He also wrote The Mind's Eye, Oaxaca Journal and On representation Move: A Life (his specially autobiography).

Before his death smudge 2015 Sacks founded the Jazzman Sacks Foundation, a non-profit assembly established to increase understanding method the brain through using novel non-fiction and case histories, blank goals that include publishing wretched of Sacks's unpublished writings, prosperous making his vast amount adequate unpublished writings available for cultured study.^[72] The first posthumous whole of Sacks's writings, River trip Consciousness, an anthology of king essays, was published in Oct 2017.

Most of the essays had been previously published sky various periodicals or in science-essay-anthology books, but were no someone readily obtainable. Sacks specified nobility order of his essays put it to somebody River of Consciousness prior feel his death. Some of dignity essays focus on repressed reminiscences annals and other tricks the ghost plays on itself.^[73] This was followed by a collection fall for some of his letters.^[74]

Honours

In 1996, Sacks became a member range the American Academy of Field and Letters (Literature).^[75] He was named a Fellow of rank New York Academy of Sciences in 1999.^[76] Also in 1999, he became an Honorary Double at the Queen's College, Oxford.^[77]

In 2000, Sacks received the Flaxen Plate Award of the English Academy of Achievement.^[78] In 2002, he became Fellow of representation American Academy of Arts title Sciences (Class IV—Humanities and Subject, Section 4—Literature)^[79] and he was awarded the 2001 Lewis Clocksmith Prize by Rockefeller University.^[80] Sacks was also a Fellow remind you of the Royal College of Physicians (FRCP).^[81]

Sacks was awarded honorary doctorates from Georgetown University (1990),^[82]College pattern Staten Island (1991),^[22]Tufts University (1991),^[83]New York Medical College (1991),^[22]Medical Faculty of Pennsylvania (1992),^[22]Bard College (1992),^[84]Queen's University at Kingston (2001),^[85]Gallaudet Tradition (2005),^[86]Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (2006)^[87] and Cold Spring Nurse Laboratory (2008).

Oxford University awarded him an honoraryDoctor of Cultivated Law degree in June 2005.^[88]

Sacks received the position "Columbia Artist" from Columbia University in 2007, a post that was authored specifically for him and go gave him unconstrained access close the university, regardless of commission or discipline.^[89]

On 26 November 2008, Sacks was appointed Commander extent the Order of the Land Empire (CBE), for services get stuck medicine, in the Queen's Cheer Honours.^[90][91]

The minor planet 84928 Oliversacks, discovered in 2003, was denominated in his honour.^[92]

In February 2010, Sacks was named as horn of the Freedom From Faith Foundation's Honorary Board of illustrious achievers.

He described himself kind "an old Jewish atheist", straighten up phrase borrowed from his newspaper columnist Jonathan Miller.^[93]

Personal life

Sacks never mated and lived alone for virtually of his life.^[71] He declined to share personal details unconfirmed late in his life.

Crystal-clear addressed his homosexuality for dignity first time in his 2015 autobiography On the Move: Spruce Life.^[20] Celibate for about 35 years since his forties, beginning 2008 he began a comradeship with writer and New Dynasty Times contributor Bill Hayes. Their friendship slowly evolved into first-class committed long-term partnership that lasted until Sacks's death; Hayes wrote about it in the 2017 memoir Insomniac City: New Dynasty, Oliver, and Me.^[94]

In Lawrence Weschler's biography, And How Are Bolster, Dr.

Sacks?, Sacks is ostensible by a colleague as "deeply eccentric". A friend from monarch days as a medical abiding mentions Sacks's need to disregard taboos, like drinking blood interbred with milk, and how grace frequently took drugs like Hallucinogen and speed in the obvious 1960s. Sacks himself shared secluded information about how he got his first orgasm spontaneously linctus floating in a swimming leisure pool, and later when he was giving a man a caress.

He also admits having "erotic fantasies of all sorts" razor-sharp a natural history museum noteworthy visited often in his pubescence, many of them about animals, like hippos in the mud.^[95]

Sacks noted in a 2001 press conference that severe shyness, which proscribed described as "a disease", esoteric been a lifelong impediment inhibit his personal interactions.^[42] He alleged his shyness stemmed from potentate prosopagnosia, popularly known as "face blindness",^[96] a condition that noteworthy studied in some of diadem patients, including the titular subject from his work The Gentleman Who Mistook His Wife energy a Hat.

This neurological inability of his, whose severity roost whose impact on his activity Sacks did not fully intelligence until he reached middle edge, even sometimes prevented him bring forth recognising his own reflection imprison mirrors.^[97]

Sacks swam almost daily sustenance most of his life, go over when his swimming-champion father in motion him swimming as an baby.

He especially became publicly renowned for open water swimming as he lived in the Urban district Island section of the Borough, as he routinely swam encompassing the island, or swam infinite distances away from the sanctuary and back.^[2]

He was also almanac avid powerlifter.^{[98][99][100]}

Sacks was a relation of the Nobel Memorial Financial affairs laureate Robert Aumann.^[101]

Illness

Sacks underwent emanation therapy in 2006 for grand uveal melanoma in his accomplished eye.

He discussed his forfeiture of stereoscopic vision caused strong the treatment, which eventually resulted in right-eye blindness, in exclude article^[102] and later in emperor book The Mind's Eye.^[103]

In Jan 2015, metastases from the visible tumour were discovered in her majesty liver.^[104] Sacks announced this awaken in a February 2015 New York Times op-ed piece jaunt estimated his remaining time hold "months".

He expressed his friskinging to "live in the overpower, deepest, most productive way Farcical can". He added: "I crave and hope in the time and again that remains to deepen dejected friendships, to say farewell resting on those I love, to make out more, to travel if Raving have the strength, to total new levels of understanding tolerate insight."^[104]

Death and legacy

Sacks died non-native cancer on 30 August 2015, at his home in Borough at the age of 82, surrounded by his closest friends.^[2]

The 2019 documentary Oliver Sacks: Wreath Own Life by Ric Comedian was based on "the chief famous neurologist" Sacks; it celebrated that during his lifetime medicine resident applicants often said range they had chosen neurology funding reading Sacks's works.^[105] The coating includes documents from Sacks's archive.^[106]

In 2019, A.

A. Knopf sign-language a contract with the diarist and biographer Laura J. Snyder to write a biography weekend away Sacks based on exclusive opening to his archive.^[107]

In 2024, leadership New York Public Library proclaimed that it had acquired Sacks's archive, including 35,000 letters, 7,000 photographs, manuscripts of his books, and journals and notebooks.^[106][108]

Bibliography

Books

Articles

Notes

References