The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat

I am constantly told at school that wider research is vital for success at A levels and for success in gaining a place at university, so whenever I can I like to read about medicine, be that through a blog update, BBC news, or in this case through a book.
From reading around medicine and no doubt from my work experience, I have learnt that I have a particular interest in neurology and the brain. I think I am attracted by the complexity of the brain and the strange and almost supernatural illnesses that are associated with neurology, so upon the recommendation of a professor whom I spent time with during my work experience, I read The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, by Oliver Sacks, published in 1985 .

The book documents the stories of Dr Sacks' patients that all have differing neurological disorders, ranging from loss of memories or inability to recognise people or objects to phantom limbs or those who are afflicted but are gifted artists or mathematicians.



With 24 different chapters all describing a different case, I was drawn in and fascinated by the sheer diversity and complexity of neurology and the brain, as the book introduced me to neurological disorders that I had not heard of before, such as polyneuritis or visual agnosia. The book itself is split into four sections, losses, excesses, transports and the world of the simple.
Losses is about people who have a loss or lack of a certain function of their brain.
Excesses 'an unusual disorder in neurology' is about patients with an excess function in the brain.
Transports, the part I personally found the most interesting and reminded me of fictional supernatural powers, contains stories of patients who have imaginations, dreams, spiritualities, feelings or other dreamy states or reminiscence.
The world of the simple, contains accounts of patients who many are autistic and as Sacks says have 'different forms of the mind which are very innocent, simple and transparent'.

My Favourite Chapters 

• Murder - Donald killed his daughter under the influence of PCP, yet he had not memory of the act. After 4 years in a psychiatric hospital for the criminally insane he was let out on parole, and whilst out cycling one day suffered an accident. After this accident he had a severe head injury and went into a coma, upon waking he could remember the murder. All his memories returned. Yet till this day Sacks' admitted the reason for this is completely unknown. 
• The Twins - The story of two 26 year old twins, John and Michael, who whilst being autistic savants who could not perform simple mathematical calculations, played a game involving them telling each other 6 -> 20 digit prime numbers.
• The Autist Artist - José, aged 21 found solace in nature and drawing despite being autistic. His imagination seemed to counteract every common thought on autism. 
• The President's Speech - Dr Sacks' whilst on a ward of aphasics and agnosiacs observed them as they listened to an actor president deliver a speech. Many of the group were laughing at the speech de to the president's facial expressions that were not considered genuine. 
• The Disembodied Lady - For me this was the one of the strangest and almost scary case, as it was the case of a woman who had lost her sense of proprioception and had the feeling that she was outside of her body.
• The Dog Beneath the Skin - The story of Stephen D, a 22 year old medical student, under a night influenced by drugs woke up with a heightened sense of smell, much like a dogs. I later read whilst researching Oliver Sacks that he is in fact Stephen D. 

My Opinion 

As I mentioned earlier the book opened my eyes to the complexity and sheer diversity of the brain and the neurological problems related to it. The book also showed me that unfortunately it appears, on the surface at least, with regards to neurology science and medicine along with stigmas to the mentally ill has not advanced much. (I however am open to suggestions that this is not the case, since that is only my personal opinion) One point within the book that I would use to back this opinion is in the final chapter José's attendant shunned Dr Sacks' for suggesting that José should try drawing, as according to José's attendant José had shown no previous intellect. This view I find is still present in today's society, if someone is not normal we jump to the conclusion that they have little value, and too often are not willing to explore and attempt to learn more about them. 

What I also learnt and admired from the book was Dr Sacks' treatment of his patients. He treated them all as people, genuinely interested in them and wanting to help them. This was particularly poignant in The Twins as he joined in on their games and in The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, as he visited Dr P's home to help him, and also shown in Sacks' spontaneous visit to José. Dr Sacks' appears to genuinely care for his patients and wants to help them even if he is not needed. His need to also solve their neurological puzzles is inspiring and a quality that I too hope to possess one day. Yet throughout all of this he never loses sight of the true responsibility of medicine.  

Finally throughout the book I admire how he observes the positives in his patients and throughout I felt a sense of respect and admiration of them on Sacks' behalf. It reminded me of a quote that I read on a review of the book whilst ordering the book on amazon, "By highlighting the positives Sacks' provides a wonderful insight into the ay in which the human mind is able to find strength in adversity". I feel that this quote completely sums up the message and feel of this book, and to anyone who has not read it, whether you are an aspiring medic or not, I highly recommend it.