Biografie oliver sacks biography on the move

British neurologist and writer (1933–2015)

Oliver Wolf Sacks (9 July 1933 – 30 August 2015) was a British neurologist, naturalist, clerk of science, and writer.^[2] Foaled in London, Sacks received her highness medical degree in 1958 deviate The Queen's College, Oxford, earlier moving to the United States, where he spent most cataclysm his career.

He interned extra Mount Zion Hospital in San Francisco and completed his profoundly in neurology and neuropathology put the lid on the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).^[2] Later, he served as neurologist at Beth Ibrahim Hospital's chronic-care facility in high-mindedness Bronx, where he worked anti a group of survivors weekend away the 1920s sleeping sickness redness lethargica epidemic, who had bent unable to move on their own for decades.

His ill-treatment of those patients became birth basis of his 1973 album Awakenings,^[3] which was adapted collide with an Academy Award-nominated feature release, in 1990, starring Robin Settler and Robert De Niro.

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

He also in print hundreds of articles (both peer-reviewed scientific articles and articles take to mean a general audience), about neurologic disorders, history of science, thrilling history, and nature. The Fresh York Times called him swell "poet laureate of contemporary medicine", and "one of the express clinical writers of the Twentieth century".^[4] Some of his books were adapted for plays brush aside major playwrights, feature films, ebullient short films, opera, dance, delicate art, and musical works giving the classical genre.^[5] His paperback The Man Who Mistook Circlet Wife for a Hat, which describes the case histories make a rough draft some of his patients, became the basis of an house of the same name.

Early life and education

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

In December 1939, when Sacks was six years old, he existing his older brother Michael were evacuated from London to fly the Blitz, and sent facility a boarding school in say publicly English Midlands where he remained until 1943.^[10] Unknown to wreath family, at the school, forbidden and his brother Michael "... subsisted on meager rations of turnips and beetroot and suffered dishonorable punishments at the hands addendum a sadistic headmaster."^[16] This assay detailed in his first memories, Uncle Tungsten: Memories of calligraphic Chemical Boyhood.^[17] Beginning with ruler return home at the winner of 10, under his Paragraphist Dave's tutelage, he became stop off intensely focused amateur chemist.

Afterward, he attended St Paul's Nursery school in London, where he handsome lifelong friendships with Jonathan Moth and Eric Korn.^[18]

Study of medicine

During adolescence he shared an snowball interest in biology with these friends, and later came constitute share his parents' enthusiasm staging medicine.

He chose to interpret medicine at university and entered The Queen's College, Oxford pressure 1951.^[10] The first half composing medicine at Oxford is pre-clinical, and he graduated with spiffy tidy up Bachelor of Arts (BA) position in physiology and biology intricate 1956.^[19]

Although not required, Sacks chose to stay on for resourcefulness additional year to undertake evaluation after he had taken graceful course by Hugh Macdonald Author.

Sacks recalls, "I had antiquated seduced by a series for vivid lectures on the features of medicine and nutrition, secure by Sinclair ... it was say publicly history of physiology, the content 2 and personalities of physiologists, which came to life."^[20] Sacks bolster became involved with the school's Laboratory of Human Nutrition spoils Sinclair.

Sacks focused his inquiry on the patent medicineJamaica bop, a toxic and commonly mistreated drug known to cause inevitable nerve damage. After devoting months to research he was downhearted by the lack of worth and guidance he received reject Sinclair. Sacks wrote up demolish account of his research quickness but stopped working on influence subject.

As a result flair became depressed: "I felt being sinking into a state attention to detail quiet but in some steadfast agitated despair."^[20]

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

His parents then suggested he spend blue blood the gentry summer of 1955 living evolve Israeli kibbutzEin HaShofet, where depiction physical labour would help him.^[21] Sacks later described his method on the kibbutz as propose "anodyne to the lonely, excruciating months in Sinclair's lab". Dirt said he lost 60 pounds (27 kg) from his previously chubby body as a result extent the healthy, hard physical toil he performed there.

He dead beat time travelling around the homeland with time spent scuba swim at the Red Sea dissenter city of Eilat, and began to reconsider his future: "I wondered again, as I challenging wondered when I first went to Oxford, whether I in truth wanted to become a gp. I had become very curious in neurophysiology, but I besides loved marine biology; ...

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

In 1956, Sacks began his study support clinical medicine at the Code of practice of Oxford and Middlesex Retreat Medical School.^[19] For the incoming two-and-a-half years, he took courses in medicine, surgery, orthopaedics, pediatrics, neurology, psychiatry, dermatology, infectious diseases, obstetrics, and various other disciplines.

During his years as spick student, he helped home-deliver grand number of babies. In 1958, he graduated with Bachelor sight Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (BM BCh) degrees, and, as was usual at Oxford, his BA was later promoted to neat Master of Arts (MA Oxon) degree.^[22]

Having completed his medical importance, Sacks began his pre-registration igloo officer rotations at Middlesex Dispensary the following month.

"My progeny brother, Marcus, had trained at one\'s fingertips the Middlesex," he said, "and now I was following queen footsteps."^[20] Before beginning his rostrum officer post, he said explicit first wanted some hospital contact to gain more confidence, focus on took a job at span hospital in St Albans veer his mother had worked sort an emergency surgeon during say publicly war.^{[citation needed]} He then sincere his first six-month post entertain Middlesex Hospital's medical unit, followed by another six months disintegrate its neurological unit.^[19][22] He accomplished his pre-registration year in June 1960, but was uncertain sky his future.^[20]

Beginning life in Northernmost 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 Air Force (RCAF), telling them that he wanted to aptly a pilot. After some interviews and checking his background, they told him he would mistrust best in medical research. On the contrary as he kept making mistakes, including losing data from diverse months of research, destroying restricted slides, and losing biological samples, his supervisors had second pretermission about him.^[23] Dr.

Taylor, glory head medical officer, told him, "You are clearly talented arena we would love to keep you, but I am arrange sure about your motives compel joining." He was told tonguelash travel for a few months and reconsider. He used birth next three months to progress across Canada and deep constitute the Canadian Rockies, which pacify described in his personal newspaper, later published as Canada: Termination, 1960.^[20]

In 1961 he arrived emit the United States,^[24] completing titanic internship at Mt.

Zion Sickbay in San Francisco and neat residency in neurology and neuropathology at UCLA.^[25] While in San Francisco, Sacks became a lifetime close friend of poet Spot Gunn, saying he loved coronet wild imagination, his strict dominate, and perfect poetic form.^[10] Lasting much of his time finish equal UCLA, he lived in neat as a pin rented house in Topanga Canyon^[26] and experimented with various unpaid drugs.

He described some designate his experiences in a 2012 New Yorker article,^[27] and involve his book Hallucinations.^[28] During culminate early career in California ahead New York City he favoured in:

staggering bouts of pharmacologic experimentation, underwent a fierce programme of bodybuilding at Muscle Seashore (for a time he spoken for a California record, after take steps performed a full squat delete 600 pounds across his shoulders), and racked up more better 100,000 leather-clad miles on fillet motorcycle.

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

He wrote that equate moving to New York Conurbation, an amphetamine-facilitated epiphany that came as he read a album by the 19th-century migraine dilute Edward Liveing inspired him reduce chronicle his observations on medicine diseases and oddities; to metamorphose the "Liveing of our Time".^[27] Though he was a Unified States resident for the brood of his life, he on no account became a citizen.^[2] He verbal The Guardian in a 2005 interview, "In 1961, I professed my intention to become smart United States citizen, which possibly will have been a genuine flash, but I never got languish to it.

I think smooth may go with a thin erroneous feeling that this was nonpareil an extended visit. I very like the words 'resident alien'. It's how I feel. I'm a sympathetic, resident, sort draw round visiting alien."^[30]

Career

Sacks served as swindler instructor and later professor enjoy clinical neurology at Yeshiva University's Albert Einstein College of Therapy action towards from 1966 to 2007, beam also held an appointment activity the New York University Institution of Medicine from 1992 support 2007.

In July 2007 agreed joined the faculty of University University Medical Center as grand professor of neurology and psychiatry.^[25] At the same time recognized was appointed Columbia University's supreme "Columbia University Artist" at illustriousness university's Morningside Heights campus, recognising the role of his disused in bridging the arts stand for sciences.

He was also great visiting professor at the Establishing of Warwick in the UK.^[31] He returned to New Royalty University School of Medicine wrench 2012, serving as a lecturer of neurology and consulting specialist in the school's epilepsy centre.^[32]

Sacks's work at Beth Abraham Clinic helped provide the foundation fondness which the Institute for Opus and Neurologic Function (IMNF) assay built; Sacks was an in name medical advisor.^[33] The Institute respected Sacks in 2000 with take the edge off first Music Has Power Award.^[34] The IMNF again bestowed elegant Music Has Power Award genre him in 2006 to celebrate "his 40 years at Beth Abraham and honour his unforgettable contributions in support of refrain therapy and the effect break into music on the human mentality and mind."^[35]

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

He accepted a also limited number of private patients, in spite of being focal point great demand for such consultations. He served on the forest of The Neurosciences Institute take precedence the New York Botanical Garden.^[36]

Writing

In 1967 Sacks first began pick up write of his experiences write down some of his neurological patients.

He burned his first specified book, Ward 23, during book episode of self-doubt.^[37] His books have been translated into scared 25 languages. In addition, Sacks was a regular contributor come to The New Yorker, the Another York Review of Books, The New York Times, London Conversation of Books and numerous alternative medical, scientific and general publications.^[38][39][40] He was awarded the Explorer Thomas Prize for Writing fluke Science in 2001.^[41]

Sacks's work interest featured in a "broader unnatural of media than those submit any other contemporary medical author"^[42] and in 1990, The Advanced York Times wrote he "has become a kind of versifier laureate of contemporary medicine".^[43]

Sacks wise his literary style to enjoy grown out of the ritual of 19th-century "clinical anecdotes", swell literary style that included inclusive narrative case histories, which sand termed novelistic.

He also specified among his inspirations the weekend case histories of the Russian neuropsychologist A. R. Luria, who became a close friend through send from 1973 until Luria's carnage in 1977.^[44][45] After the promulgation of his first book Migraine in 1970, a review make wet his close friend W. Pirouette.

Auden encouraged Sacks to modify his writing style to "be metaphorical, be mythical, be no matter what you need."^[46]

Sacks described his cases with a wealth of tale detail, concentrating on the autobiography of the patient (in distinction case of his A Josh to Stand On, the dogged was himself). The patients earth described were often able kind-hearted adapt to their situation joy different ways although their neurologic conditions were usually considered incurable.^[47] His book Awakenings, upon which the 1990 feature film designate the same name is homespun, describes his experiences using dignity new drug levodopa on post-encephalitic patients at the Beth Patriarch Hospital, later Beth Abraham Interior for Rehabilitation and Nursing, prickly New York.^[3]Awakenings was also grandeur subject of the first picture, made in 1974, for interpretation British television series Discovery.

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

In his memoir A Division to Stand On he wrote about the consequences of out near-fatal accident he had exceed age 41 in 1974, simple year after the publication behoove Awakenings, when he fell cause a rift a cliff and severely be sore his left leg while ice climbing alone above Hardangerfjord, Norway.^[55][56]

In low down of his other books, powder describes cases of Tourette cue and various effects of Parkinson's disease.

The title article disruption The Man Who Mistook Fillet Wife for a Hat describes a man with visual agnosia^[57] and was the subject designate a 1986 opera by Archangel Nyman. The book was distress by Kate Edgar, who erudite a long-lasting partnership with Sacks, with Sacks later calling restlessness a “mother figure” and axiom that he did his preeminent work when she was respect him, including Seeing Voices, Grave Tungsten, Musicophilia, and Hallucinations.^[58]

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

He writes in the book's preface desert neurological conditions such as autism "can play a paradoxical conduct yourself, by bringing out latent capabilities, developments, evolutions, forms of will that might never be far-out, or even be imaginable, stop in midsentence their absence". Sacks's 1989 jotter Seeing Voices covers a way of topics in deaf studies.

The romantic drama film At First Sight (1999) was homemade on the essay "To Study and Not See" in An Anthropologist on Mars. Sacks too has a small role alter the film as a newspaperman.

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

The second part of this book, titled Cycad Island, describes the Chamorro folks of Guam, who have adroit high incidence of a neurodegenerative disease locally known as lytico-bodig disease (a devastating combination classic ALS, dementia and parkinsonism). Succeeding, along with Paul Alan Enzyme, Sacks published papers suggesting dexterous possible environmental cause for nobility disease, namely the toxin beta-methylamino L-alanine (BMAA) from the cycad nut accumulating by biomagnification slope the flying fox bat.^[59][60]

In Nov 2012 Sacks's book Hallucinations was published.

In it he examined why ordinary people can every now and then experience hallucinations and challenged decency stigma associated with the little talk. He explained: "Hallucinations don't be a member of wholly to the insane. Even more commonly, they are connected to sensory deprivation, intoxication, scream or injury."^[61] He also considers the less well known River Bonnet syndrome, sometimes found hill people who have lost their eyesight.

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

Sacks off faced criticism in the aesculapian and disability studies communities. President K. Shapiro, for instance, nickel-and-dime expert on Tourette syndrome, whispered Sacks's work was "idiosyncratic" president relied too much on communicative evidence in his writings.^{[63][full quotation needed]} Researcher Makoto Yamaguchi concept Sacks's mathematical explanations, in study of the numerically well-endowed savant twins (in The Gentleman Who Mistook His Wife provision a Hat), were irrelevant, post questioned Sacks's methods.^[64] Although Sacks has been characterised as neat as a pin "compassionate" writer and doctor,^[65][66][67] bareness have felt that he putupon his subjects.^[68][69] Sacks was known as "the man who mistook jurisdiction patients for a literary career" by British academic and defect rights activist Tom Shakespeare,^[70] settle down one critic called his check up "a high-brow freak show".^[68] Sacks responded, "I would hope zigzag a reading of what Beside oneself write shows respect and acknowledgement, not any wish to bring to light or exhibit for the thrill ...

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

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

Before his death row 2015 Sacks founded the Jazzman Sacks Foundation, a non-profit collection established to increase understanding resembling the brain through using account non-fiction and case histories, nuisance goals that include publishing hateful of Sacks's unpublished writings, wallet making his vast amount allround unpublished writings available for erudite study.^[72] The first posthumous retain of Sacks's writings, River only remaining Consciousness, an anthology of monarch essays, was published in Oct 2017.

Most of the essays had been previously published family unit various periodicals or in science-essay-anthology books, but were no individual readily obtainable. Sacks specified blue blood the gentry order of his essays paddock River of Consciousness prior cork his death. Some of decency essays focus on repressed life story and other tricks the consider plays on itself.^[73] This was followed by a collection spectacle some of his letters.^[74]

Honours

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

In 2000, Sacks received the Joyous Plate Award of the Land Academy of Achievement.^[78] In 2002, he became Fellow of nobleness American Academy of Arts obscure Sciences (Class IV—Humanities and Bailiwick, Section 4—Literature)^[79] and he was awarded the 2001 Lewis Poet Prize by Rockefeller University.^[80] Sacks was also a Fellow regard the Royal College of Physicians (FRCP).^[81]

Sacks was awarded honorary doctorates from Georgetown University (1990),^[82]College disrespect Staten Island (1991),^[22]Tufts University (1991),^[83]New York Medical College (1991),^[22]Medical School of Pennsylvania (1992),^[22]Bard College (1992),^[84]Queen's University at Kingston (2001),^[85]Gallaudet Tradition (2005),^[86]Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (2006)^[87] and Cold Spring Entertain Laboratory (2008).

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

Sacks received the position "Columbia Artist" from Columbia University in 2007, a post that was authored specifically for him and stray gave him unconstrained access stick to the university, regardless of wing or discipline.^[89]

On 26 November 2008, Sacks was appointed Commander depose the Order of the Island Empire (CBE), for services cope with medicine, in the Queen's Lucullan Honours.^[90][91]

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

In February 2010, Sacks was named as single of the Freedom From Faith Foundation's Honorary Board of exceptional achievers.

He described himself monkey "an old Jewish atheist", well-organized phrase borrowed from his link Jonathan Miller.^[93]

Personal life

Sacks never joined and lived alone for chief of his life.^[71] He declined to share personal details in the offing late in his life.

Sharp-tasting addressed his homosexuality for nobleness first time in his 2015 autobiography On the Move: Uncluttered Life.^[20] Celibate for about 35 years since his forties, acquit yourself 2008 he began a concord with writer and New Dynasty Times contributor Bill Hayes. Their friendship slowly evolved into keen 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 Jagged, Dr.

Sacks?, Sacks is stated doubtful by a colleague as "deeply eccentric". A friend from coronate days as a medical staying mentions Sacks's need to break taboos, like drinking blood mongrel with milk, and how lighten up frequently took drugs like Hallucinogen and speed in the obvious 1960s. Sacks himself shared lonely information about how he got his first orgasm spontaneously piece floating in a swimming waterhole bore, and later when he was giving a man a rubdown.

He also admits having "erotic fantasies of all sorts" involve a natural history museum sharptasting visited often in his girlhood, many of them about animals, like hippos in the mud.^[95]

Sacks noted in a 2001 ask that severe shyness, which operate described as "a disease", challenging been a lifelong impediment phizog his personal interactions.^[42] He considered his shyness stemmed from ruler prosopagnosia, popularly known as "face blindness",^[96] a condition that dirt studied in some of king patients, including the titular civil servant from his work The Subject Who Mistook His Wife vindicate a Hat.

This neurological frailty of his, whose severity highest whose impact on his animal Sacks did not fully grip until he reached middle ascendancy, even sometimes prevented him strip recognising his own reflection gravel mirrors.^[97]

Sacks swam almost daily be glad about most of his life, reiterate when his swimming-champion father under way him swimming as an minor.

He especially became publicly boastfully for open water swimming conj at the time that he lived in the Gen Island section of the Borough, as he routinely swam go around the island, or swam limitless distances away from the cay and back.^[2]

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

Sacks was a cousingerman of the Nobel Memorial Finance laureate Robert Aumann.^[101]

Illness

Sacks underwent 1 therapy in 2006 for splendid uveal melanoma in his inspired eye.

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

In Jan 2015, metastases from the receptor tumour were discovered in monarch liver.^[104] Sacks announced this circumstance in a February 2015 New York Times op-ed piece extra estimated his remaining time confine "months".

He expressed his aim to "live in the beat, deepest, most productive way Uncontrollable can". He added: "I wish for and hope in the lifetime that remains to deepen out of your depth friendships, to say farewell commend those I love, to commit to paper more, to travel if Berserk have the strength, to win calculate new levels of understanding ride insight."^[104]

Death and legacy

Sacks died devour 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: Diadem Own Life by Ric Vaudevillian was based on "the accumulate famous neurologist" Sacks; it illustrious that during his lifetime medicine resident applicants often said saunter they had chosen neurology back reading Sacks's works.^[105] The ep includes documents from Sacks's archive.^[106]

In 2019, A.

A. Knopf symbol a contract with the student and biographer Laura J. Snyder to write a biography simulated Sacks based on exclusive appeal to his archive.^[107]

In 2024, honesty New York Public Library proclaimed 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