My Lobotomy: A Memoir by Howard Dully (2007) 288 Pages
This memoir goes recounts the tragic tale of Howard Dully, one of the youngest people ever to receive a trans-orbital lobotomy. Dully, now a special education bus driver, husband, recounts his childhood and what may have led his stepmother to bring him to several psychiatrists at the age of 12, and their fateful meeting with Dr. Freeman who performed the lobotomy. Freeman is one of the foremost doctors in the country to have performed thousands of lobotomies, some inside a makeshift van for "mobile" procedures. Many patients were not able to consent to this procedure. It must be stated that Howard, a fairly normal child was never properly listened to, and had multiple step siblings, and lost his mother when he was very young, which may explain his acting out. However, the ways in which he acted out were quite normal for boys his age. It was stated in this memoir that the stepmother went from doctor's office to doctor's office looking for someone to agree with her. She treated Howard differently than the other children, and called him names, such as stupid, dimwit, and would often confine him to his room or punish him with beatings. One account mentioned that the psychiatrist told her that the problem wasn't Howard, but herself which she of course had a huge problem with. So, the lobotomy didn't fix him, it made his problems much worse and led him into countless inpatient psychiatric care units, rehabs, jail and turning to alcohol. Howard didn't begin to piece together his past until his 40s, and was able to acquire documents from archives which recounted his lobotomy. He went on a search to track down this information in order to help himself and others heal from this type of (now) inhumane procedure. Luckily, he now lives a stable life with his wife and kids, but the road to get there was quite tumultuous.
This memoir goes recounts the tragic tale of Howard Dully, one of the youngest people ever to receive a trans-orbital lobotomy. Dully, now a special education bus driver, husband, recounts his childhood and what may have led his stepmother to bring him to several psychiatrists at the age of 12, and their fateful meeting with Dr. Freeman who performed the lobotomy. Freeman is one of the foremost doctors in the country to have performed thousands of lobotomies, some inside a makeshift van for "mobile" procedures. Many patients were not able to consent to this procedure. It must be stated that Howard, a fairly normal child was never properly listened to, and had multiple step siblings, and lost his mother when he was very young, which may explain his acting out. However, the ways in which he acted out were quite normal for boys his age. It was stated in this memoir that the stepmother went from doctor's office to doctor's office looking for someone to agree with her. She treated Howard differently than the other children, and called him names, such as stupid, dimwit, and would often confine him to his room or punish him with beatings. One account mentioned that the psychiatrist told her that the problem wasn't Howard, but herself which she of course had a huge problem with. So, the lobotomy didn't fix him, it made his problems much worse and led him into countless inpatient psychiatric care units, rehabs, jail and turning to alcohol. Howard didn't begin to piece together his past until his 40s, and was able to acquire documents from archives which recounted his lobotomy. He went on a search to track down this information in order to help himself and others heal from this type of (now) inhumane procedure. Luckily, he now lives a stable life with his wife and kids, but the road to get there was quite tumultuous.
I don't know why I read this other than pure curiosity, and pulled it off the shelving cart. Its absolutely terrible what countless people with mental health issues went through during these years. The experimentation on human beings in the name of science has always been disgusting.
No comments:
Post a Comment