Oliver Sacks Dies at 82; Neurologist and Author Explored the Brain’s Quirks
Source: NYT
Oliver Sacks, the neurologist and acclaimed author who explored some of the brains strangest pathways in best-selling case histories like The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, using his patients disorders as starting points for eloquent meditations on consciousness and the human condition, died Sunday at his home in New York City. He was 82.
The cause was cancer, said Kate Edgar, his longtime personal assistant.
Dr. Sacks announced in February, in an Op-Ed essay in The New York Times, that an earlier melanoma in his eye had spread to his liver and that he was in the late stages of terminal cancer.
As a medical doctor and a writer, Dr. Sacks achieved a level of popular renown rare among scientists. More than a million copies of his books are in print in the United States, his work was adapted for film and stage, and he received about 10,000 letters a year. (I invariably reply to people under 10, over 90 or in prison, he once said.)
Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/31/science/oliver-sacks-dies-at-82-neurologist-and-author-explored-the-brains-quirks.html?_r=0
Knew it was coming, but still so sad -- he inspired me so much when I was growing up.
bvf
(6,604 posts)of his illness.
He was an amazing writer and my introduction to Temple Grandin.
eridani
(51,907 posts)There were giants in those days....
n2doc
(47,953 posts)marble falls
(57,157 posts)to gain some more insight by his handling end times with grace. I am going to miss his writing very much, also.
alcina
(602 posts)But it still saddens me more than I expected. RIP, Dr Sacks.
llmart
(15,550 posts)I read his last editorial where he talked about his impending death. He had a very pragmatic approach to the end of his life. If you haven't already read it, you may want to. I especially liked his comment about no longer spending any more emotional energy on politics.
"I feel a sudden clear focus and perspective. There is no time for anything inessential. I must focus on myself, my work and my friends. I shall no longer look at NewsHour every night. I shall no longer pay any attention to politics or arguments about global warming.
This is not indifference but detachment I still care deeply about the Middle East, about global warming, about growing inequality, but these are no longer my business; they belong to the future. I rejoice when I meet gifted young people even the one who biopsied and diagnosed my metastases. I feel the future is in good hands."
mia
(8,361 posts)His writings will live on and inspire many. He taught us how to "Rest in Peace".
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/16/opinion/sunday/oliver-sacks-sabbath.html?smid=fb-share&_r=0
KT2000
(20,586 posts)You taught us so much and we are grateful.
Response to DeadLetterOffice (Original post)
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Hekate
(90,773 posts)I get the impression that you have never actually read one of his books all the way through.
Response to Hekate (Reply #13)
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hedgehog
(36,286 posts)dixiegrrrrl
(60,010 posts)What a gracious man he was.
I am grateful he was with us as long as he was.
Hekate
(90,773 posts)I found his outlook to be very humane and kind. Each of the "cases" he described was a real person -- they never lost their personhood or humanity in his telling, and in fact regained those qualities for his readers.
One poster above thinks he put on a freak show for popular entertainment, but that is far from my experience.
Safe passage, and rest in peace, Oliver Sacks. Thank you for your insights.
Dont call me Shirley
(10,998 posts)burrowowl
(17,644 posts)lostnfound
(16,189 posts)Love his books, rest in peace.