The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat by Oliver Sacks
The story from the beginning had already begun to catch my eye just by a comparison to a cartoon, one that admittedly I did not watch but one I recognize; Mr. Magoo, by the way. The story of a blind man who would always manage to avoid peril by luck, and live in a world of whimsy and delusions because of his lack of sight while the world around him was far more stressed that he was blindly exploring the world, and trying to keep him in one piece. It was the gag of the show, and that was enough to help paint the picture, somewhat, of how Dr. P “saw” the world. Seeing faces on inanimate objects like a fire hydrant and patting their “heads” because he thought they were children almost seems comedic, straight out of a gag from a Hanna-Barbera cartoon. Reading how Sacks interacts with him as well, how he is confused by Dr. P talking about his “shoe” which was just his foot, and Sacks helping him put his “shoe” back on was so descriptive. I knew about “face blindness” but nothing like this. It was interesting to read this, and get the name “internal agnosia” from reading this.
Another tidbit in the book that stuck with me was in the following story with Jimmie, a man who was clearly far older who thought he was turning 20 who saw the past far more clearly than the present. The line on page 5 where in a talk with Sacks, he is asked the question if he feels alive, in which he answers, “Feel alive? Not really. I haven’t felt alive for a very long time.” There’s something so deeply saddening about having a loss of recent memory yet being able to remember the past so clearly, especially when Sacks shows him his reflection and he is described to looking so scared, confused, and forlorn; Sacks mentioning how he regretted that decision also really made that scene sit.
And finally, the story of The Autist Artist right from the bat struck me, although in a way that really hurt at first Reading the r-slur in such a harsh tone and knowing the exact tone of voice the attendant used without even needing to be there. Autism especially is misunderstood, even now in the year of 2022. Being called an idiot for being different, because autistic people’s (as well as other neurodivergent people) brains are wired differently and not to the “conventions” of society. Thankfully, Sacks clearly had the empathy and the understanding to not see it that way. He kept thinking of how Jose was drawing the watch, and then when he showed up again at the clinic, made it clear to show the “mask” fell as soon as Jose walked in- the vacant look dissipating to a shy smile when he saw Sacks. It was sweet, but sad because Jose is hesitant to give someone such a smile. This struck the hardest chord because I’ve been somewhat in these shoes- never to such a harshness, but feeling like an “idiot” is something I often feel with my own mother.