Cary Neeper's Blog: Reviewing World-changing Nonfiction - Posts Tagged "humanity"

by Oliver Sacks, New York, Simon & Schuster, 1910...1985
Neurologist Oliver Sacks tells fascinating stories about patients who suffered extraordinary losses, excesses, transport of mind and cognizance, and underdeveloped mental capacity. They are tales that give us a hint at how complex the brain is. At the same time we are awestruck by the demonstrations of human resilience Sacks finds and the spiritual durability that his patients display.

In beautifully written English, Sacks shows us the puzzles and discovery of therapy that worked and trials that did not. In the end we are all the richer for reading this book. We have a rare chance to appreciate ourselves--who we are and who we are not, in light of the strange turns ones brain can take without us.