This book is about a doctor who must adjust to being the patient. As the result of a freak accidental encounter with a bull on a mountain, Oliver Sacks suffered a horrendous injury to his leg causing severe nerve damage and shock. After which he had the strange sensation that the leg was not part of his own body. During his long convalescence the neurologist strove to understand his own physical identity crisis, the psychological nature of illness, and the doctor-patient relationship. Although at times the writing got a bit tedious and lost me in its complex analysis, I still found A Leg to Stand On a really engrossing book. And the role of music in his survival down the mountainside and subsequent healing process is utterly fascinating.Other books I've read by this author:
An Anthropologist on Mars
The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat
Rating: 3/5 Published: 1984, pp 224
I must try a book by Sacks. I think Aaron has one that I can borrow. Thanks for the reviews.
ReplyDeleteI'm also looking forward to reading Sacks one of these days, have heard such good things about him.
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