Reviews with content warning for Schizophrenia/Psychosis - The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat: And Other Clinical Tales

Reviews tagging 'Schizophrenia/Psychosis '

The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat: And Other Clinical Tales by Oliver Sacks

10 reviews

pinkpanther's review against another edition

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challenging informative reflective slow-paced

5.0

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kat_smith24's review against another edition

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hopeful informative reflective slow-paced

3.5

Though the language is outdated and paternalistic, this book offers a surprisingly nuanced approach to (at the time) rarer neurological disorders.

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lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

I received this as a gift after stumbling across the title while working at a university bookstore. I thought the content sounded fascinating.
"The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat" is a collection of different case studies from renowned neuroscientist Oliver Sacks. Each chapter chronicles a different patient suffering with a different type of memory-related issue.
I really enjoyed how this book was organized and presented. There were sections that grouped related cases together, and there was an introduction for each section to give a high-level overview of what was going to be discussed. Each case and patient were discussed thoughtfully; however, it is quickly evident that this book was written many years ago because some of the terminology used felt insensitive. The mind is a wild and fascinating place, and I think it is riveting to learn about different instances of medical anomalies.
If you are interested in or studying the mind, I recommend this work, and I will certainly keep Oliver Sacks's work in mind to pick up in the future.

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ominousevent's review against another edition

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It was interesting to learn a bit about things that can happen to brains, but I really don’t like the way Sacks talks about his patients (as if they are specimens, in many cases not really fully human), and some of his theories seem to be supported by nothing more than his affection for his own ideas. Not recommended.

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eve81's review against another edition

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informative reflective medium-paced

3.75

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carysisamelt's review against another edition

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informative reflective sad slow-paced

3.5

an extremely interesting book, even in the 21st century. however, there is a lot of things that made me uncomfortable when reading this, namely the use of the r-slur (though used as an actually medical term, someone should definitely revise this) and the complete inaccuracy when describing autism. i really liked the start but ending with the chapter “simpletons” (or name to that effect) left a sour taste in my mouth.

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sunn_bleach's review against another edition

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challenging hopeful informative medium-paced

3.0

Interesting but in a way I didn’t expect. This is very much a neurology book written in the early 80s, with all the language and paradigms that implies. The dead-serious use of the word “retarded” and unironic appeals to Freud and Luria are kind of shocking for 40+ years later. But I’m kind of struck at how much Sacks so obviously cared for his patients as people, not just case studies. That kind of narrative is important for humanizing the humans we treat.

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angelfireeast24's review against another edition

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informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

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apxfudge's review against another edition

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slow-paced

3.0

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beca_reads's review against another edition

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informative reflective slow-paced

1.0

This book was alright until he started talking about Tourette's. As someone with a tic disorder in the process of getting a diagnosis of Tourette's and an ex Psychology student I was let down massively down at the way he portrayed those who have tics. It started off bad during a chapter titled "Whitty, Ticcy, Ray" Sacks discussed mainly how he used a drug called Haldol (an antipsychotic which is commonly used for those with Tourette's) had completely got rid of rays tics, personally this is hard to believe as there is no current cure for Tourette's, and I felt that the way Sacks wrote about this gave false hope to those that have the condition. Medications are commonly used for Tourette's syndrome, but they are only able to control motor and vocal tics, I can't fully get rid of them. Sacks also spent time talking to Ray about curing his tics and life without tics, if the medication had not worked the way it did this would have given a sense of false hope which is damaging. Sacks does make some good points more at the beginning of the chapter- "was it possible that Tourette's was not a rarity, but rather common" This is completely true 1 in 100 school aged children have Tourette's. May Main issues with Sacks writing is the use of the word "possessed" in relation to those with Tourette's and titles his other chapter on Tourette's this. This frustrated me as this is a medical professional using such damaging language about a condition where people are very much not "possessed or need an exorcism" as some people like to think. By him using this language it perpetuates the idea that those with Tourette's are possessed. This book is one of the top books on Psychology students reading lists and these are students that are likely to work in the future with people who have Tourette's. Learning this language at an early stage in their career from some who is widely looked up to in the field is just dangerous. It is going to stop those with Tourette's accessing the help they need from medical professionals as they have a warped perception on the condition. After the second chapter on Tourette's I choose to DNF the book.

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