Helpful Score: 1
This little treasure of a book has been on my TBR list for quite a while. You see, I have two sons and so it's difficult for me to read anything that is about a child in peril, particularly a boy. It applies to movies, too. Both my boys are in college now, so I finally felt I could read it without mentally replacing the subject of the book with my own children. It was so worth the wait.
Howard Dully is the victim of a heinous crime, plain and simple. We were at a place in our history, as a people, where there were woefully inadequate laws and safeguards in place to protect people, especially children, from malpractice, abuse, and exploitation. It was during this time that Howard, at the tender age of 12, underwent a transorbital lobotomy at the behest of his stepmother, who hated him, and with the full agreement of the infamous neurologist Dr. Walter Freeman.
Ironically, his age saved Howard, in a sense, because his brain was young enough to adapt to the severe trauma inflicted upon it by Dr. Freeman's "icepick lobotomy". And so Howard was able to write of his experience and come to terms with it. The writing is raw and honest; your heart will break for the fragile child he was even before the procedure - so in need of comfort and love. The book may leave you angry - at his stepmother, his father, Dr. Freeman, the many other doctors and specialists who had the opportunity to intervene, the bystanders (family and friends) and, finally, a child welfare system that was, essentially, nonexistent.
The book may also leave you with a desire to read more about Dr. Freeman and the procedure known as the lobotomy. I have added a couple of books to my Wish List: "Great and Desperate Cures" by Dr. Elliot S. Valenstein and "The Lobotomist" by Jack El-Hai. I'll let you know about them in later reviews. So I do recommend "My Lobotomy" - I think it's an important book and has application even in today's world where medical advances are marketed like candy and perfume.
Howard Dully is the victim of a heinous crime, plain and simple. We were at a place in our history, as a people, where there were woefully inadequate laws and safeguards in place to protect people, especially children, from malpractice, abuse, and exploitation. It was during this time that Howard, at the tender age of 12, underwent a transorbital lobotomy at the behest of his stepmother, who hated him, and with the full agreement of the infamous neurologist Dr. Walter Freeman.
Ironically, his age saved Howard, in a sense, because his brain was young enough to adapt to the severe trauma inflicted upon it by Dr. Freeman's "icepick lobotomy". And so Howard was able to write of his experience and come to terms with it. The writing is raw and honest; your heart will break for the fragile child he was even before the procedure - so in need of comfort and love. The book may leave you angry - at his stepmother, his father, Dr. Freeman, the many other doctors and specialists who had the opportunity to intervene, the bystanders (family and friends) and, finally, a child welfare system that was, essentially, nonexistent.
The book may also leave you with a desire to read more about Dr. Freeman and the procedure known as the lobotomy. I have added a couple of books to my Wish List: "Great and Desperate Cures" by Dr. Elliot S. Valenstein and "The Lobotomist" by Jack El-Hai. I'll let you know about them in later reviews. So I do recommend "My Lobotomy" - I think it's an important book and has application even in today's world where medical advances are marketed like candy and perfume.
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