OLIVER SACKS was born in 1933 in London and was educated at
Queen’s College, Oxford. He completed his medical training at San
Francisco’s Mount Zion Hospital and at UCLA before moving to New
York, where he soon encountered the patients whom he would write
about in his book Awakenings.
Dr. Sacks spent almost fifty years working as a neurologist and
wrote many books, including The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a
Hat, Musicophilia, and Hallucinations, about the
strange neurological predicaments and conditions of his patients.
The New York Times referred to him as "the poet laureate of
medicine," and over the years he received many awards, including
honors from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Science
Foundation, the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and the Royal
College of Physicians. His memoir, On the Move, was published
shortly before his death in August 2015.
For more information, please visit www.oliversacks.com.
“A series of heart-rending yet ultimately uplifting essays….A
lasting gift to readers….unlike other writers who have reported
from the front lines of mortality, Sacks did not focus on his
illness, his medical ordeal or spirituality, but on “what is meant
by living a good and worthwhile life—achieving a sense of peace
within oneself. Sacks not only achieved that peace but managed to
convey it beautifully in these essays. He found positive ways to
think about everything, including his growing frailty: Perhaps, he
suggests in the book’s final pages, he was in the Sabbath of his
life, “when one can feel that one’s work is done, and one may, in
good conscience, rest.” His tender book leaves readers with a
similar sense of tranquility and, indeed, gratitude.” —Heller
McAlpin, Washington Post
“Elegant….a lovely slim volume.” —Melissa Dahl, New York
Magazine
“Powerful….The book chronicles the famous author’s thoughts,
wishes, regrets, and, above all, feelings of love, happiness, and
gratitude even as he faced the cancer that ended his life last year
at 82….the material offers incisive, poignant observations….A
perfect gift for thoughtful readers, and a title that belongs in
science and biography collections.” —Library Journal, *starred
review*
“The neurologist and author died of cancer in August. Between 2013
and 2015, he wrote four moving essays, published in The New York
Times, reflecting on his life and facing mortality. They are
collected in this slim volume, a coda to Sacks’ remarkable career.”
—Tom Beer, Newsday
“A book defined by celebration, not sadness.” —Danny Heitman, The
Advocate
“This is a worthy little chapbook for the lovers of Oliver Sacks.”
—Edith Cody-Rice, The Millstone
“The volume is tiny—short enough to read easily in one sitting—but
it’s huge in heart. Oliver Sack’s just-published book
“Gratitude,” consists of four essays the famous neurologist
and chronicler of human quirks wrote in the months before his
death of cancer this summer at 82. It is, in effect, a mini-memoir,
a beautiful meditation on what it means to live a good life.”
—Sydney Trent, Washington Post
“In these four graceful essays written in the two years before he
died, Oliver Sacks looks at life, old age — and death, square in
the eye….First published individually in the New York Times,
together these pieces form a wise and profound quartet.” —Laurie
Hertzel, Minneapolis Star-Tribune
“Gratitude is a bittersweet and absolutely beautiful read in
its entirety.” —Maria Popova, Brainpickings.org
“A humane look at his own life, and death, told with good humor,
acceptance, and that charming gratitude that had such a strong hold
on him. If you know his writings, this will bring them to a
thoughtful and enlightened conclusion; if you do not, the little
book is a not just a farewell but will do for a grand
introduction.” —The Dispatch
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