<![CDATA[My Lobotomy]]>

false <![CDATA[My Lobotomy]]>

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At twelve, Howard Dully was guilty of the same crimes as other boys his age: he was moody and messy, rambunctious with his brothers, contrary just to prove a point, and perpetually at odds with his parents. Yet somehow, this normal boy became one of the youngest people on whom Dr. Walter Freeman performed his barbaric transorbital - or ice pick - lobotomy. Abandoned by his family within a year of the surgery, Howard spent his teen years in mental institutions, his twenties in jail, and his thirties in a bottle. It wasn't until he was in his forties that Howard began to pull his life together. But even as he began to live the normal life he had been denied, Howard struggled with one question: Why? "October 8, 1960. I gather that Mrs. Dully is perpetually talking, admonishing, correcting, and getting worked up into a spasm, whereas her husband is impatient, explosive, rather brutal, won';t let the boy speak for himself, and calls him numbskull, dimwit, and other uncomplimentary names." There were only three people who would know the truth: Freeman, the man who performed the procedure; Lou, his cold and demanding stepmother who brought Howard to the doctor's attention; and his father, Rodney. Of the three, only Rodney, the man who hadn't intervened on his son's behalf, was still living. Time was running out. Stable and happy for the first time in decades, Howard began to search for answers. "December 3, 1960. Mr. and Mrs. Dully have apparently decided to have Howard operated on. I suggested [they] not tell Howard anything about it." Through his research, Howard met other lobotomy patients and their families, talked with one of Freeman's sons about his father's controversial life's work, and confronted Rodney about his complicity. And, in the archive where the doctor's files are stored, he finally came face to face with the truth. Revealing what happened to a child no one - not his father, not the medical community, not the state - was willing to protect, My Lobotomy exposes a shameful chapter in the history of the treatment of mental illness. Yet, ultimately, this is a powerful and moving chronicle of the life of one man. Without reticence, Howard Dully shares the story of a painfully dysfunctional childhood, a misspent youth, his struggle to claim the life that was taken from him, and his redemption.

491309

book

2007

My Lobotomy

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5 11 false false Thu Jan 10 22:28:38 -0800 2008 Fri Jan 11 22:13:36 -0800 2008 more...]]> 1 8 true true Fri Feb 15 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Fri Feb 01 14:06:44 -0800 2008 Fri Feb 15 07:55:59 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 4 false false Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Tue Jan 01 14:49:40 -0800 2008 Mon Jan 07 22:04:47 -0800 2008 more...]]> 2 4 false false Mon Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Tue Sep 18 06:13:37 -0700 2007 Fri Nov 07 17:42:30 -0800 2008
But this book wasn't as entrancing for me as I'd hoped it would be. A big fan of memoirs, I love read...more...]]> 3 5 false false Fri Feb 29 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Sep 26 12:18:41 -0700 2007 Fri Feb 29 13:26:57 -0800 2008
The most heartbreaking part of his story is how no one ever spoke to him, when what he really needed was someone to step in and take him out of a really shitty family situation. ]]> 5 3 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Feb 06 13:00:24 -0800 2008 Mon Feb 11 12:48:11 -0800 2008
December 15, 1960, at 12 years old, Howard Dully’s life changed forever.

On November 30, 1948, Howard was born to Ro...more...]]> 3 3 false false Thu Feb 07 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sat Dec 29 05:35:15 -0800 2007 Thu Feb 07 18:11:18 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 3 true false Mon Sep 22 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Sep 22 20:01:55 -0700 2008 Mon Sep 22 20:10:05 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 3 false false Mon Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Mon Oct 22 18:46:32 -0700 2007 Mon Oct 22 18:50:44 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 2 false false Wed Jan 23 21:55:32 -0800 2008 Thu Mar 06 15:01:32 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 2 false false Thu May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Jun 02 07:34:38 -0700 2008 Mon Jun 02 08:08:38 -0700 2008
The story is really heart wrenching. As a kid, the author was beaten by his dad and stepmother as a means of punishment. His dad worked two (and sometimes three or four) jobs and was seldom around. When he was around, he...more...]]> 4 2 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Feb 04 17:02:47 -0800 2008 Mon Feb 04 17:22:14 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 2 false false Mon Jun 23 18:24:48 -0700 2008 Mon Jun 23 18:30:45 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 2 false false Mon Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Mon Oct 08 06:51:11 -0700 2007 Mon Oct 08 06:58:55 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 2 false false Thu Jan 10 09:45:19 -0800 2008 Thu Jan 10 09:45:49 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 2 false false Wed Sep 26 13:40:36 -0700 2007 Wed Sep 26 13:45:58 -0700 2007 Wow. I am so addicted to memoir right now! This story is incredible... documenting a very confused time in American psychiatry. Howard Dully isn't a brilliant writer by any means, but he tells a story that inspires and amazes... he was one of the youngest people to be given a lobotomy by the f...more...]]> 5 2 false false Tue Dec 30 12:49:54 -0800 2008 Tue Dec 30 13:22:30 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 2 false false Sat Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Wed Sep 19 21:27:28 -0700 2007 Wed Sep 19 21:40:30 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 2 false false Sun Dec 09 16:29:13 -0800 2007 Thu Dec 13 20:28:55 -0800 2007 more...]]> 5 2 false false Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Wed Dec 05 06:28:59 -0800 2007 Fri Dec 07 13:48:31 -0800 2007 more...]]>