THE MAN WHO MISTOOK HIS WIFE FOR A HAT

by compound complex 13 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  compound complex

  For BabaYaga and Sirona,

  I have the above title and am inspired to give it another go! Thanks ...

  Love,

  CoCo

  THE MAN WHO MISTOOK HIS WIFE FOR A HAT

  Here Dr. Sacks recounts the case histories of patients lost in the bizarre, apparently inescapable world of neurological disorders: people afflicted with fantastic perceptual and intellectual aberrations; patients who have lost their memories and with them the greater part of their pasts; who are no longer able to recognize people and common objects; who are stricken with violent tics and grimaces or who shout involuntary obscenities; whose limbs have become alien; who have been dismissed as retarded yet are gifted with uncanny artistic or mathematical talents.
  
  If inconceivably strange, these brilliant tales remain, in Dr. Sacks's splendid and sympathetic telling, deeply human. They are studies of life struggling against incredible adversity, and they enable us to enter the world of the neurologically impaired, to imagine with our hearts what it must be to live and feel as they do.

  Dr. Sacks on Hat:

  Short narratives, essays, parables about patients with a great range of neurological and neuropsychiatric conditions, written in a lighter, more informal style than I had ever used before. To my intense surprise (my publisher's too!) this book hit some nerve in the reading public, and became an instant best-seller.
• 

  amicus

  It was the rage in the Health Care industry in the late 90's?.

  There were other books that were a must read though.

  The one about attitude/healing, and others I have long forgotten.

  That one had a catchy title though. :-)
• 

  compound complex

  Hey, Amicus!

  That one had a catchy title though. :-)

  It worked!

  Thanks for your comments.

  CoCo
• 

  amicus

  I can't recall the other books that were the rage then. Most dealt with attitude and healing?

  That one can't be ignored though. ;-)
• 

  Dagney

  Dear CoCo,

  Read the book during my "obsessed with mental disorders" period. LOL. This is another one I read...fascinating:

  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0380722178/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

  "Nobody Nowhere" - Donna Williams

  This is another favorite and amazing book I read during said period. Wow.

  Love, D

  PS. I wish I was clever enough to post on your "Happy Homemaker" thread...makes me giggle. Although I have been tempted to ask how to get a white heat mark out of a dark red wood table top...
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  BabaYaga

  Cool, CoCo! It has been so many years since I read it, perhaps I should pick it up again, too!
  
  I am just fascinated by the capacity and the inadequacies and the bizarre reactions of the brain. It always calls into question, not only how dependent we are on our brains, but also, and most importantly, does that one organ of the body completely define WHO we are?
  
  Love and happy freaky reading,
  Baba.
• 

  compound complex

  BTTT - Thanks for the great replies!

  CoCo
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  Sirona

  Cool.

  Also try "Born on a blue day" by Daniel Tammet

  http://www.amazon.co.uk/Born-Blue-Day-Aspergers-Extraordinary/dp/0340899743

  Sirona
• 

  compound complex

  Thanks, Sirona!

  CoCo

  Daniel Tammet has Savant syndrome, a rare form of Asperger's which gives him the ability to remember long sequences of numbers (seeing the numbers as having various colours and textures) and to be able to learn to speak a language from scratch within a week.
  
  The book isn't just an autobiography. Tammet explains incredibly eloquently about how he experiences numbers and words, giving the reader a glimpse inside an extraordinary mind.
  
  Tammets explores his childhood experinces, the pain of being an outsider at school, how he discovered he was gay and found a loving relationship and most importantly how he experinces the world. I particularly enjoyed the chapters about the teaching assignment he took in Lithuania and learning Lithuanian, something which most of us would find daunting even without autism.
  
  The writing is quite sparce, lacking flowery description, as you might expect being written by someone with such an analytical brain. However there are parts which are still very touching. Tammet has had to teach himself how to function socially, how to read body language and verbal clues. I think if nothing else, this book has taught me that idioms such as 'pull up a chair' or 'feeling under the weather' can be incredibly confusing for people who take language so literally.
  
  A really intersting read. Recommended.

  [...], this book taught me that idioms such as 'pull up a chair' or 'feeling under the weather' can be incredibly confusing for people who take language so literally.
• 

  BizzyBee

  Sacks also was involved in creating the movie Awakenings with Robert DeNiro and Robin Williams.