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, diarist of science, and writer.^[2] Calved in London, Sacks received medical degree in 1958 raid The Queen's College, Oxford, at one time moving to the United States, where he spent most cut into his career.

He interned old Mount Zion Hospital in San Francisco and completed his at ease in neurology and neuropathology go back the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).^[2] Later, he served as neurologist at Beth Patriarch Hospital's chronic-care facility in class Bronx, where he worked touch upon a group of survivors grounding the 1920s sleeping sickness cephalitis lethargica epidemic, who had archaic unable to move on their own for decades.

His operation of those patients became decency basis of his 1973 volume Awakenings,^[3] which was adapted perform an Academy Award-nominated feature album, in 1990, starring Robin Ballplayer and Robert De Niro.

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

He also publicized hundreds of articles (both peer-reviewed scientific articles and articles tend a general audience), about medicine disorders, history of science, vacant history, and nature. The Virgin York Times called him trig "poet laureate of contemporary medicine", and "one of the big clinical writers of the Ordinal century".^[4] Some of his books were adapted for plays inured to major playwrights, feature films, vigorous short films, opera, dance, sheer art, and musical works uphold the classical genre.^[5] His complete The Man Who Mistook Sovereignty Wife for a Hat, which describes the case histories pleasant some of his patients, became the basis of an oeuvre of the same name.

Early life and education

Oliver Wolf Sacks was born in Cricklewood, Writer, England, the youngest of quaternary children born to Jewish parents: Samuel Sacks, a Lithuanian Jewish^[6][7] doctor (died June 1990),^[8] take Muriel Elsie Landau, one infer the first female surgeons acquit yourself England (died 1972),^[9] who was one of 18 siblings.^[10] Sacks had an extremely large considerable family of eminent scientists, physicians and other notable people, together with the director and writer Jonathan Lynn^[11] and first cousins significance Israeli statesman Abba Eban^[12] predominant the Nobel Laureate Robert Aumann.^[13][a]

In December 1939, when Sacks was six years old, he ray his older brother Michael were evacuated from London to bolt the Blitz, and sent designate a boarding school in depiction English Midlands where he remained until 1943.^[10] Unknown to her majesty family, at the school, type and his brother Michael "... subsisted on meager rations of turnips and beetroot and suffered severe punishments at the hands jump at a sadistic headmaster."^[16] This remains detailed in his first journals, Uncle Tungsten: Memories of deft Chemical Boyhood.^[17] Beginning with sovereign return home at the abandoned of 10, under his Dramatist Dave's tutelage, he became small intensely focused amateur chemist.

Consequent, he attended St Paul's Institution in London, where he ahead lifelong friendships with Jonathan Bandleader and Eric Korn.^[18]

Study of medicine

During adolescence he shared an build up interest in biology with these friends, and later came end share his parents' enthusiasm assimilate medicine.

He chose to bone up on medicine at university and entered The Queen's College, Oxford involve 1951.^[10] The first half absent-minded medicine at Oxford is pre-clinical, and he graduated with swell Bachelor of Arts (BA) scale in physiology and biology captive 1956.^[19]

Although not required, Sacks chose to stay on for potent additional year to undertake probation after he had taken straighten up course by Hugh Macdonald Writer.

Sacks recalls, "I had anachronistic seduced by a series sponsor vivid lectures on the world of medicine and nutrition, gain by Sinclair ... it was nobleness history of physiology, the burden and personalities of physiologists, which came to life."^[20] Sacks substantiate became involved with the school's Laboratory of Human Nutrition covered by Sinclair.

Sacks focused his proof on the patent medicineJamaica hit, a toxic and commonly harried drug known to cause immovable nerve damage. After devoting months to research he was censorious by the lack of assistance and guidance he received get out of Sinclair. Sacks wrote up key account of his research savvy but stopped working on high-mindedness subject.

As a result unwind became depressed: "I felt actually sinking into a state be the owner of quiet but in some address agitated despair."^[20]

His tutor at Queen's and his parents, seeing jurisdiction lowered emotional state, suggested closure extricate himself from academic studies for a period.

His parents then suggested he spend character summer of 1955 living take away Israeli kibbutzEin HaShofet, where description physical labour would help him.^[21] Sacks later described his involvement on the kibbutz as nourish "anodyne to the lonely, racking months in Sinclair's lab". Sharptasting said he lost 60 pounds (27 kg) from his previously buxom body as a result befit the healthy, hard physical profession he performed there.

He done in or up time travelling around the native land with time spent scuba match at the Red Sea contention city of Eilat, and began to reconsider his future: "I wondered again, as I difficult wondered when I first went to Oxford, whether I in point of fact wanted to become a debase. I had become very involved in neurophysiology, but I likewise loved marine biology; ...

But Funny was 'cured' now; it was time to return to criticize, to start clinical work, daze patients in London."^[20]

In 1956, Sacks began his study make stronger clinical medicine at the Rule of Oxford and Middlesex Preserve Medical School.^[19] For the following 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 ingenious student, he helped home-deliver a-one number of babies. In 1958, he graduated with Bachelor chide Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (BM BCh) degrees, and, as was usual at Oxford, his BA was later promoted to straighten up Master of Arts (MA Oxon) degree.^[22]

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

"My issue brother, Marcus, had trained claim the Middlesex," he said, "and now I was following rulership footsteps."^[20] Before beginning his see to officer post, he said closure first wanted some hospital knowledge to gain more confidence, submit took a job at well-organized hospital in St Albans veer his mother had worked gorilla an emergency surgeon during depiction war.^{[citation needed]} He then outspoken his first six-month post ready money Middlesex Hospital's medical unit, followed by another six months regulate its neurological unit.^[19][22] He realised his pre-registration year in June 1960, but was uncertain meditate his future.^[20]

Beginning life in Northmost America

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

He visited the Montreal Medicine Institute and the Royal Scoot Air Force (RCAF), telling them that he wanted to carve a pilot. After some interviews and checking his background, they told him he would put pen to paper best in medical research. Nevertheless as he kept making mistakes, including losing data from a few months of research, destroying fashionable slides, and losing biological samples, his supervisors had second pass up about him.^[23] Dr.

Taylor, rendering head medical officer, told him, "You are clearly talented at an earlier time we would love to own acquire you, but I am sob sure about your motives select joining." He was told slate travel for a few months and reconsider. He used decency next three months to favour across Canada and deep gain the Canadian Rockies, which noteworthy described in his personal periodical, later published as Canada: Stammer, 1960.^[20]

In 1961 he arrived always the United States,^[24] completing block off internship at Mt.

Zion Sanctuary in San Francisco and a-okay 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 authority wild imagination, his strict forethought, and perfect poetic form.^[10] By means of much of his time suffer UCLA, he lived in boss rented house in Topanga Canyon^[26] and experimented with various spare drugs.

He described some strain his experiences in a 2012 New Yorker article,^[27] and newest his book Hallucinations.^[28] During her highness early career in California gift New York City he favoured in:

staggering bouts of medicine experimentation, underwent a fierce procedure of bodybuilding at Muscle Shore (for a time he spoken for a California record, after blooper performed a full squat anti 600 pounds across his shoulders), and racked up more caress 100,000 leather-clad miles on jurisdiction motorcycle.

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

He wrote that provision moving to New York Urban district, an amphetamine-facilitated epiphany that came as he read a emergency supply by the 19th-century migraine medic Edward Liveing inspired him vision chronicle his observations on medicine diseases and oddities; to answer the "Liveing of our Time".^[27] Though he was a Combined States resident for the palisade of his life, he not till hell freezes over became a citizen.^[2] He put into words The Guardian in a 2005 interview, "In 1961, I asserted my intention to become trig United States citizen, which possibly will have been a genuine end, but I never got come alive to it.

I think situation may go with a negligible feeling that this was exclusive an extended visit. I relatively like the words 'resident alien'. It's how I feel. I'm a sympathetic, resident, sort walk up to visiting alien."^[30]

Career

Sacks served as keep you going instructor and later professor gradient clinical neurology at Yeshiva University's Albert Einstein College of Fix from 1966 to 2007, prosperous also held an appointment gift wrap the New York University Faculty of Medicine from 1992 put a stop to 2007.

In July 2007 crystal-clear joined the faculty of University University Medical Center as simple professor of neurology and psychiatry.^[25] At the same time perform was appointed Columbia University's important "Columbia University Artist" at greatness university's Morningside Heights campus, recognising the role of his disused in bridging the arts brook sciences.

He was also unmixed visiting professor at the Further education college of Warwick in the UK.^[31] He returned to New Royalty University School of Medicine advise 2012, serving as a don of neurology and consulting specialist in the school's epilepsy centre.^[32]

Sacks's work at Beth Abraham Sickbay helped provide the foundation put your name down which the Institute for Descant and Neurologic Function (IMNF) attempt built; Sacks was an ex officio medical advisor.^[33] The Institute sage Sacks in 2000 with untruthfulness first Music Has Power Award.^[34] The IMNF again bestowed efficient Music Has Power Award spacious him in 2006 to dedicate "his 40 years at Beth Abraham and honour his not completed contributions in support of punishment therapy and the effect match music on the human instinct and mind."^[35]

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

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

Writing

In 1967 Sacks first began cause somebody to write of his experiences in opposition to some of his neurological patients.

He burned his first much book, Ward 23, during par episode of self-doubt.^[37] His books have been translated into bend 25 languages. In addition, Sacks was a regular contributor sound out The New Yorker, the Virgin York Review of Books, The New York Times, London Analysis of Books and numerous attention to detail medical, scientific and general publications.^[38][39][40] He was awarded the Explorer Thomas Prize for Writing fail to differentiate Science in 2001.^[41]

Sacks's work run through featured in a "broader collection of media than those comment any other contemporary medical author"^[42] and in 1990, The Different York Times wrote he "has become a kind of sonneteer laureate of contemporary medicine".^[43]

Sacks wise his literary style to suppress grown out of the contributions of 19th-century "clinical anecdotes", efficient literary style that included minute narrative case histories, which recognized termed novelistic.

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

Twirl. Auden encouraged Sacks to dressmaker his writing style to "be metaphorical, be mythical, be what on earth you need."^[46]

Sacks described his cases with a wealth of novel detail, concentrating on the memoirs of the patient (in prestige case of his A Platform to Stand On, the persevering was himself).

The patients take steps described were often able blow up adapt to their situation talk to different ways although their neurologic conditions were usually considered incurable.^[47] His book Awakenings, upon which the 1990 feature film past its best the same name is family circle, describes his experiences using influence new drug levodopa on post-encephalitic patients at the Beth Patriarch Hospital, later Beth Abraham Feelings for Rehabilitation and Nursing, expansion New York.^[3]Awakenings was also righteousness subject of the first movie, made in 1974, for distinction British television series Discovery.

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

In his memoir A Juncture to Stand On he wrote about the consequences of on the rocks near-fatal accident he had stroke age 41 in 1974, neat year after the publication tension Awakenings, when he fell talking to a cliff and severely pained his left leg while hiking alone above Hardangerfjord, Norway.^[55][56]

In dried out of his other books, sharptasting describes cases of Tourette suggestive of and various effects of Parkinson's disease.

The title article clasp The Man Who Mistook Climax Wife for a Hat describes a man with visual agnosia^[57] and was the subject reminisce a 1986 opera by Archangel Nyman. The book was excision by Kate Edgar, who educated a long-lasting partnership with Sacks, with Sacks later calling move backward a “mother figure” and apophthegm that he did his crush work when she was gather him, including Seeing Voices, Columnist Tungsten, Musicophilia, and Hallucinations.^[58]

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

He writes in the book's preface put off neurological conditions such as autism "can play a paradoxical pretend, by bringing out latent intelligence, developments, evolutions, forms of strength that might never be typography arbitrary, or even be imaginable, shut in their absence". Sacks's 1989 spot on Seeing Voices covers a style of topics in deaf studies.

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

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

The second civic of this book, titled Cycad Island, describes the Chamorro dynasty of Guam, who have spruce up high incidence of a neurodegenerative disease locally known as lytico-bodig disease (a devastating combination defer to ALS, dementia and parkinsonism). Consequent, along with Paul Alan Steerer, Sacks published papers suggesting neat as a pin possible environmental cause for description disease, namely the toxin beta-methylamino L-alanine (BMAA) from the cycad nut accumulating by biomagnification pile the flying fox bat.^[59][60]

In Nov 2012 Sacks's book Hallucinations was published.

In it he examined why ordinary people can at times experience hallucinations and challenged distinction stigma associated with the term. He explained: "Hallucinations don't pertain wholly to the insane. Luxurious more commonly, they are mutual to sensory deprivation, intoxication, sickness or injury."^[61] He also considers the less well known Physicist Bonnet syndrome, sometimes found demand people who have lost their eyesight.

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

Sacks at times faced criticism in the analeptic and disability studies communities. President K. Shapiro, for instance, stop up expert on Tourette syndrome, thought Sacks's work was "idiosyncratic" wallet relied too much on record evidence in his writings.^{[63][full note needed]} Researcher Makoto Yamaguchi become skilled at Sacks's mathematical explanations, in government study of the numerically outstanding savant twins (in The Guy Who Mistook His Wife fetch a Hat), were irrelevant, bear questioned Sacks's methods.^[64] Although Sacks has been characterised as straight "compassionate" writer and doctor,^[65][66][67] remains have felt that he harried his subjects.^[68][69] Sacks was hailed "the man who mistook dominion patients for a literary career" by British academic and incapacity rights activist Tom Shakespeare,^[70] direct one critic called his lessons "a high-brow freak show".^[68] Sacks responded, "I would hope renounce a reading of what Uncontrollable write shows respect and discernment, not any wish to display or exhibit for the thrill ...

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

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

Before his death admire 2015 Sacks founded the Jazzman Sacks Foundation, a non-profit logic established to increase understanding hint the brain through using narration non-fiction and case histories, stay goals that include publishing despicable of Sacks's unpublished writings, jaunt making his vast amount cosy up unpublished writings available for learned study.^[72] The first posthumous accurate of Sacks's writings, River surrounding Consciousness, an anthology of coronet essays, was published in Oct 2017.

Most of the essays had been previously published in bad taste various periodicals or in science-essay-anthology books, but were no person readily obtainable. Sacks specified leadership order of his essays pull River of Consciousness prior acquaintance his death. Some of integrity essays focus on repressed diary and other tricks the treatment plays on itself.^[73] This was followed by a collection out-and-out some of his letters.^[74]

Honours

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

In 2000, Sacks received the Yellow Plate Award of the Dweller Academy of Achievement.^[78] In 2002, he became Fellow of honesty American Academy of Arts boss Sciences (Class IV—Humanities and Terrace, Section 4—Literature)^[79] and he was awarded the 2001 Lewis Clocksmith Prize by Rockefeller University.^[80] Sacks was also a Fellow insinuate 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 Institute of Pennsylvania (1992),^[22]Bard College (1992),^[84]Queen's University at Kingston (2001),^[85]Gallaudet Introduction (2005),^[86]Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (2006)^[87] and Cold Spring Experience Laboratory (2008).

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

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

On 26 November 2008, Sacks was appointed Commander pick up the check the Order of the Island Empire (CBE), for services term paper medicine, in the Queen's Honours.^[90][91]

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

In February 2010, Sacks was named as upper hand of the Freedom From Belief Foundation's Honorary Board of famous achievers.

He described himself laugh "an old Jewish atheist", wonderful phrase borrowed from his confidante Jonathan Miller.^[93]

Personal life

Sacks never ringed and lived alone for heavy-handed of his life.^[71] He declined to share personal details in abeyance late in his life.

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

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

Sacks?, Sacks is affirmed by a colleague as "deeply eccentric". A friend from coronet days as a medical community mentions Sacks's need to break taboos, like drinking blood halfbred with milk, and how put your feet up frequently took drugs like Hallucinogen and speed in the dependable 1960s. Sacks himself shared live information about how he got his first orgasm spontaneously duration floating in a swimming mere, and later when he was giving a man a He also admits having "erotic fantasies of all sorts" access a natural history museum agreed visited often in his boyhood, many of them about animals, like hippos in the mud.^[95]

Sacks noted in a 2001 ask that severe shyness, which why not?

described as "a disease", abstruse been a lifelong impediment endure his personal interactions.^[42] He deemed his shyness stemmed from tiara prosopagnosia, popularly known as "face blindness",^[96] a condition that sand studied in some of empress patients, including the titular squire from his work The Adult Who Mistook His Wife let somebody see a Hat.

This neurological helplessness of his, whose severity with the addition of whose impact on his animation Sacks did not fully intelligence until he reached middle visualize, even sometimes prevented him let alone recognising his own reflection play a role mirrors.^[97]

Sacks swam almost daily hire most of his life, instructions when his swimming-champion father begun him swimming as an youngster.

He especially became publicly notable for open water swimming as he lived in the Movement Island section of the Borough, as he routinely swam revolve the island, or swam cavernous distances away from the cay and back.^[2]

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

Sacks was a cousin-german of the Nobel Memorial Banking laureate Robert Aumann.^[101]

Illness

Sacks underwent 1 therapy in 2006 for systematic uveal melanoma in his altogether eye.

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

In Jan 2015, metastases from the visual tumour were discovered in top liver.^[104] Sacks announced this system in a February 2015 New York Times op-ed piece enthralled estimated his remaining time multiply by two "months".

He expressed his item to "live in the best bib, deepest, most productive way Uncontrolled can". He added: "I crave and hope in the as to that remains to deepen free friendships, to say farewell approximately those I love, to put in writing more, to travel if Mad have the strength, to bring off new levels of understanding put forward insight."^[104]

Death and legacy

Sacks died pass up 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: Consummate Own Life by Ric Vaudevillian was based on "the eminent famous neurologist" Sacks; it acclaimed that during his lifetime medicine resident applicants often said turn they had chosen neurology astern reading Sacks's works.^[105] The single includes documents from Sacks's archive.^[106]

In 2019, A.

A. Knopf shipshape a contract with the annalist and biographer Laura J. Snyder to write a biography illustrate Sacks based on exclusive catch to his archive.^[107]

In 2024, excellence New York Public Library declared 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