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My Lobotomy

by: Howard Dully, Charles Fleming

: My Lobotomy
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 920
EAN: 9780307381279
ISBN: 0307381277
Label: Three Rivers Press
Manufacturer: Three Rivers Press
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 304
Publication Date: August 26, 2008
Publisher: Three Rivers Press
Release Date: August 26, 2008
Sales Rank: 14156
Studio: Three Rivers Press



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Product Description:
At twelve, Howard Dully was guilty of the same crimes as other boys his age: he was moody and messy, rambunctious with his brothers, contrary just to prove a point, and perpetually at odds with his parents. Yet somehow, this normal boy became one of the youngest people on whom Dr. Walter Freeman performed his barbaric transorbital—or ice pick—lobotomy.

Abandoned by his family within a year of the surgery, Howard spent his teen years in mental institutions, his twenties in jail, and his thirties in a bottle. It wasn’t until he was in his forties that Howard began to pull his life together. But even as he began to live the “normal” life he had been denied, Howard struggled with one question: Why?

“October 8, 1960. I gather that Mrs. Dully is perpetually talking, admonishing, correcting, and getting worked up into a spasm, whereas her husband is impatient, explosive, rather brutal, won’t let the boy speak for himself, and calls him numbskull, dimwit, and other uncomplimentary names.”

There were only three people who would know the truth: Freeman, the man who performed the procedure; Lou, his cold and demanding stepmother who brought Howard to the doctor’s attention; and his father, Rodney. Of the three, only Rodney, the man who hadn’t intervened on his son’s behalf, was still living. Time was running out. Stable and happy for the first time in decades, Howard began to search for answers.

“December 3, 1960. Mr. and Mrs. Dully have apparently decided to have Howard operated on. I suggested [they] not tell Howard anything about it.”

Through his research, Howard met other lobotomy patients and their families, talked with one of Freeman’s sons about his father’s controversial life’s work, and confronted Rodney about his complicity. And, in the archive where the doctor’s files are stored, he finally came face to face with the truth.

Revealing what happened to a child no one—not his father, not the medical community, not the state—was willing to protect, My Lobotomy exposes a shameful chapter in the history of the treatment of mental illness. Yet, ultimately, this is a powerful and moving chronicle of the life of one man. Without reticence, Howard Dully shares the story of a painfully dysfunctional childhood, a misspent youth, his struggle to claim the life that was taken from him, and his redemption.


From the Hardcover edition.



Customer Reviews
Average Rating: out of 5 stars

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars - my lobotomy, review by a reader
This book offers a unique insight to a first hand experience of a person whose life was greatly affected ... Read More


Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - Anyone curious about the brain needs to read this book
You've read that this book is moving, emotional, triumphant - those are all true.

What makes ... Read More


Rating: 4 out of 5 stars - Interesting book
This was an interesting book. I would not say it was my favorite but it certainly kept my attention until ... Read More


Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - A Human Face to Modern Medical Misfortune
I received a free copy of this book and wondered if I would be interested. As I rode the subway home from work ... Read More


Rating: 4 out of 5 stars - an authentic voice
howard dully lost a loving mom when he was a little kid. and life was never the same. dad remarried, and the ... Read More

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Copyright ©2003, Mark Carey.