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4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
A beautiful little peer into Oliver's last thoughts and considerations before he departed from this world. I wish the timelines were different so that I could've been his friend and he could show me around the botanical gardens and watch in horror as I read on a Kindle instead of a "pure" physical novel with beloved 'booksmell'. My favourite read of the year.
Given that this collection of essays was published posthumously, it's a bit of a hodgepodge - some musings on early influences and memorable childhood experiences, tales of patients that Sacks encountered, musings on varied topics like the possibility of alien life, herring, ferns, the demise of large print books, gefilte fish...
But Sacks writes so beautifully that you go along with wherever the collection takes you - from the history of asylums, to how Etienne-Jules Marey and Edward Muybridge used their respective skills to develop our understanding on animal locomotion, to the restorative impact of gardens. Like the clinical tales Sacks recounted in his earlier collection, The Man Who Mistook His Wife for A Hat, the cases he details in Everything in Its Place are curious, fascinating, and make you appreciate that the things we take for granted - our sense of self, our sensations, our sense of reality, our sense of control (think Tourette's) - depend on a million and one things working as intended and in harmony.
The standouts in the collection for me were: "Botanists on Park", a piece on a Saturday Fern Foray in New York that had been published in the New Yorker; "The Lost Virtues of the Asylum", where I learned about the remarkable town of Geel in Belgium which has a long tradition of families voluntarily taking in the mentally ill as guests and treating them like family; and "The Aging Brain", where Sacks discusses the symptoms and progression of Alzheimer's but also how it is possible to retain and preserve some elements of identity and sense of self , and how to maintain neurological vitality, our brains must "remain active, wondering, playing, exploring and experimenting right to the very end". How might we develop and maintain a sense of wonder that can "keep us passionate and productive to the end of our lives"?
But Sacks writes so beautifully that you go along with wherever the collection takes you - from the history of asylums, to how Etienne-Jules Marey and Edward Muybridge used their respective skills to develop our understanding on animal locomotion, to the restorative impact of gardens. Like the clinical tales Sacks recounted in his earlier collection, The Man Who Mistook His Wife for A Hat, the cases he details in Everything in Its Place are curious, fascinating, and make you appreciate that the things we take for granted - our sense of self, our sensations, our sense of reality, our sense of control (think Tourette's) - depend on a million and one things working as intended and in harmony.
The standouts in the collection for me were: "Botanists on Park", a piece on a Saturday Fern Foray in New York that had been published in the New Yorker; "The Lost Virtues of the Asylum", where I learned about the remarkable town of Geel in Belgium which has a long tradition of families voluntarily taking in the mentally ill as guests and treating them like family; and "The Aging Brain", where Sacks discusses the symptoms and progression of Alzheimer's but also how it is possible to retain and preserve some elements of identity and sense of self , and how to maintain neurological vitality, our brains must "remain active, wondering, playing, exploring and experimenting right to the very end". How might we develop and maintain a sense of wonder that can "keep us passionate and productive to the end of our lives"?
*3.5
I love Oliver Sacks' writing, don't get me wrong. Having been amorous with his flow and diction since high school, I have to admit this was a dry read. The last few chapters left a bitter taste, as I was just not in the mood for some melancholic lament of today's society. However, overall, I did leave with more appreciation for Sacks as a neurologist and as a human being.
I love Oliver Sacks' writing, don't get me wrong. Having been amorous with his flow and diction since high school, I have to admit this was a dry read. The last few chapters left a bitter taste, as I was just not in the mood for some melancholic lament of today's society. However, overall, I did leave with more appreciation for Sacks as a neurologist and as a human being.
I love Oliver Sacks' wisdom and perception. I'm sad he's no longer with us. This is a good selection from his various writings. I liked having another "new" Oliver Sacks to enjoy.
Written by an author who has published in The New Yorker and other prestigious places, you may recognize his name from his book and subsequent movie "Awakenings". In this collection of his essays, most emphasize the human condition of various neurological medical situations. While I appreciated the writing, I most enjoyed his essay "Libraries" because of my love of them and my similar mourning of the loss of the printed word.
In "The Lost Virtues of the Asylum", I was fascinated by his description of the Flemish town of Geel, where for centuries, it has been the norm there for town residents to take in or adopt a boarder, including those with psychiatric conditions where such "outpatients" are also able to take part in supervised jobs or day programs with access to therapists and social workers, in addition to their host families. The town's unique approach brings such human dignity that it is a shame that it remains an isolated experiment rather than more common practice worldwide.
While this book was published in 2019, Sacks passed away in 2015. He notes in one essay his use of various sizes and shapes of magnifying glasses because of his failing vision (and he ended up with a melanoma in one of his eyes, which obstructed his vision). It reminded me of the last time I saw my own mother, when I was struck by her use of a magnifying glass. I thought she had been using it to avoid purchasing glasses. Now that I read Sack's description and reasons for using them, I realize that I was likely wrong in my assumption.
In "The Lost Virtues of the Asylum", I was fascinated by his description of the Flemish town of Geel, where for centuries, it has been the norm there for town residents to take in or adopt a boarder, including those with psychiatric conditions where such "outpatients" are also able to take part in supervised jobs or day programs with access to therapists and social workers, in addition to their host families. The town's unique approach brings such human dignity that it is a shame that it remains an isolated experiment rather than more common practice worldwide.
While this book was published in 2019, Sacks passed away in 2015. He notes in one essay his use of various sizes and shapes of magnifying glasses because of his failing vision (and he ended up with a melanoma in one of his eyes, which obstructed his vision). It reminded me of the last time I saw my own mother, when I was struck by her use of a magnifying glass. I thought she had been using it to avoid purchasing glasses. Now that I read Sack's description and reasons for using them, I realize that I was likely wrong in my assumption.
As always, great stories, wonderful life lessons all wrapped up in humour.
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
My grandpa told me to read this book and so I did. I really shouldn’t have liked it so much. I don’t know why I liked it.
Very touching, a collection of short stories sharing themes of love of life and awe before limitless ways it manifests itself.
Some stories leave a better impression than others, some may be seen as a soft nagging about how we sometimes forget to be humane to each other or actually live our life.
Still it feels nice to be reminded how different life could be, and how many fascinating things there are. It is sad that the author had passed away, but at least we still have books he had written.
Some stories leave a better impression than others, some may be seen as a soft nagging about how we sometimes forget to be humane to each other or actually live our life.
Still it feels nice to be reminded how different life could be, and how many fascinating things there are. It is sad that the author had passed away, but at least we still have books he had written.
emotional
hopeful
informative
relaxing
fast-paced
fantastic and intimate and thoughtful as usual of oliver sacks