Summary: The Man Who Mistook His Wife Of Hat

The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat was written by Oliver Sacks who is a professor of neurology and psychiatry at Columbia University. Sacks writes about his studies of a man named Dr. P who has an unusual brain disorder. Sacks tries to figure out what is exactly wrong with Dr. P and prescribe him with something that can help him; but he can’t seem to figure out what will help Dr. P. His only solution is to prescribe him with “a life which consists entirely of music. Music has been the center; now make it the whole, of your life” (Sacks 688). Dr. P’s main problem is that he has lost judgment in his life which Sacks is scared

The next area of focus presented itself after asking certain questions in this area. Mr. and Mrs. Lake discuss the emotional stress brought on by moving from California to Arizona last year and leaving their 23 year old handicapped son Brad behind in California. Brad resides in a group home where he has lived for the past 10 years. He is very accustomed to his environment there; his needs are put first and it is best for him to stay there. To cope they contact his’ group home weekly to evaluate his needs and concerns the home may have. In addition, plans are made so Mrs. Lake can drive or fly to California to attend important meetings and appointments with her son Bradley. She describes the stress of being so far from her son very hard. She states she relies on her husband, Christian faith, and Brads’ care-takers to help her cope. Observations of this couple show a very solid support system provided

For J. N.’s occupation of work, she was employed at Pennsylvania Water & Gas Company. She was employed there for many years, and expressed that when she began working there, it was only called the Pennsylvania Water Company, because they had not yet bought out the gas company. J.N. is a woman who is full of life. Some of her character traits include that she is friendly, funny, supportive, and always willing to help those around her. J.N. expressed that when growing up, she had older parents, which she believes, allowed her to have a special connection with older people throughout her lifetime. One occupational experience that J.N. has experienced is caring for her friend, for many years. Before and after her friend’s accident, J.N. was her primary caregiver. Some of her patterns of daily living include going for a walk everyday that it is nice out and going to the store. At night she follows a specific pattern, which includes the activities of getting coffee at 4 p.m., boiling a pot of hot water for her neighbor at 6 p.m., and watching the evening news at 7 p.m. Some things that J.N. likes are music, playing the piano, listening

In the world, unexpected and surprising friendships may occur. One afternoon, Reuven Malter prepares for a baseball game with his friends, competing against Danny Saunders and his friends. During the game, Danny hits the ball, which smacks Reuven squarely in the face causing shards of glass from his glasses to fly into his pupil. Throughout Reuven’s time in the hospital, Danny

An older boy remembered his father, a hardworking blue collar man. He remembered how his father would walk into the home each evening with scraped hands and perspiration stained shirts. His father was a tough man. He was the kind of man that refused to go to the doctor and rarely hugged his children. Yet, he was a good man. The boy remembered how his father provided for the family and often times his smallest actions proved his paternal love for them. One particular memory stood out among the rest. His father had returned home from work late one evening. He had been out celebrating his pay raise with some of his co-workers down at the local pub. He waltzed through the door bursting with

I was on phone with my dad, he was drunk and made promises I knew he would never uphold. Beep, beep, beep, the phone call ended. Tears rolled down my face, my breathing became shallow, it grew harder to fill my lungs. I was having an anxiety attack. “What’s going on?” Stewart asked, leaning toward me. I shook my head, avoiding the topic. “David,” my mom responded simply. Stewart’s typically stern persona softened immediately. He sighed, clasping his hands together, all his body weight shifted onto his elbows that were placed on his

In Chapter 12 of The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, Mr. William Thompson suffered from an extreme case of Korsakov’s, also known as Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome (Sacks, 1985, p. 109). According to Anderson (2010), Korsakoff syndrome can cause serious damage to one’s hippocampus and temporal lobe due to habitual alcoholism, resulting in amnesia (p. 201). Similar to HM (Anderson, 2010, p. 200), Mr. Thompson suffered from anterograde amnesia and could remember nothing for more than a few brief moments (Sacks, p. 109). Anderson (2010) states that anterograde amnesia results in the incapability of creating new memories, leading to fractional or absolute inability to remember something that just happened (p. 201). Yet, one’s long-term memories before the incident remain intact; such as when Mr. Thompson recognized his younger brother, Bob, as he walked by the window (Sacks, 1985, p. 112-113). Mr. Thompson and HM both suffered from anterograde amnesia and could remember some long-term memories but not remember new ones, signifying that the neural makeup involved in making fresh memories are diverse from maintaining past memories (Anderson, 2010, p. 202).

On page 11 his boss says, “what’s the matter? You barricade yourself in your room, answer only ‘yes’ and ‘no,’ cause your parents serious, unnecessary worry, and you neglect – I mention this only in passing – your duties to the firm in a really shocking manner.” Showing us what his life consists of every day even when he is in a serious ill condition. His boss tells him that he is causing his parents

Although the title suggests a comical book, Oliver Sacks presents an entirely different look on the mentally challenged/disturbed. The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat is a book that explains why a patient shows signs of losses, excesses, transports, and simplicity. Coincidentally, the book opens with its titling story, letting the reader explore the mind of an accomplish doctor who seems to have lost his true sight on life. In the following context, the seriousness of the stories and their interpretative breakdowns should only cause a better understanding of how the ever-so-questionable human mind truly works from a professional perspective put into simple words.

Paul loves soccer. All he wanted to do was to play on the Lake Windsor Middle School soccer team because it's the only way for him to fit in at this new school. Everything was going according to plan, Mrs. Gates was showing him and his mother around the school until they stopped in her office to fill out some paper work and discuss some things. They were all talking about what Paul’s interests were and the topic fell on soccer. He made it obvious that he was a soccer player, specifically a goalie. Mrs. Gates then explained the IEP to Mrs. Fisher and they headed out. Paul was not excited anymore to attend school at Lake Windsor all because of the stupid IEP. Mrs. Fisher decided it would be right to fill out the form, but it had actually ruined any chances for Paul being able to play soccer. She thought she was doing the right thing and helping him out in school, but being labeled “visually impaired” was not easy. “‘ What are you doing here? Are you alright?’ ‘I got kicked off the team.’ ‘What? What happened?’ ‘Coach Walski said I’m in a program for the handicapped so I’m off the team.’ ‘That’s… that’s outrageous! He can’t do that.’ Well he just did. He said they can’t get insurance for me because I’m a handicapped program. You know all about that. Right, Mom?’ ‘Me? What do you mean?’ ‘You told them I’m handicapped! You told them I’m visually impaired!’ ‘Darling you are. I just told them the truth.’ ‘That’s not the truth. I can see! Don’t you know that? Why did you fill out that stupid form when you know I can see? You saw me play in Houston. You saw me make thirty saves in one game! Did I look visually impaired then?’ ‘Paul, darling, I did not know that the IEP form had anything to do with playing on the soccer team. I would have never filled it out if I did. I know this is important to you.’”(63,64) Paul is really mad at his mom for choosing to fill

John's father was informed about this accident and punish John by whipping him with a razor strop. Later on this year John had an experienced in which a family friend harass him and will take John to a truck and have sexual interaction with him. John never shares this experience with his father because, among all his bad relationship with him, he knows his father would blame him for this incident. When John grew up and was attending school he suffered from a heart condition that led him to avoid any sports activity this generate an overweight appearance. John was not a popular kid he was only and average student with a few friends and was bully among his classmates. Indeed his quietness he joins the boy scouts. When John was eleven he had an accident with a swing set when he was playing that caused him a blood clot in this brain that was not discovered until he was 16 years

Talin displayed a visibly positive and social affect when he arrived this morning. He smiled often and was socially appropriate when interacting with staff and peers. I went over Talin’s schedule with him for today and then allowed him to choose an activity for some independent leisure. Talin spent some time writing in his notebook, and putting together a puzzle. Before heading out for the day, Talin was given a couple of visual options to choose from to determine what activity he preferred to do first. Talin first chose to go to Bowling. I assisted Talin with obtaining his shoes and bowling ball. I then showed Talin what lane he would be bowling on. Talin was visibly excited bowl, needing redirection to put his shoes on before starting the

The young sisters, who know little about their father’s suffering, make fun of the hole without knowing the consequence of their action. The father is unable to intervene on his daughters’ behalf, as he sits there “face paled.” (40), till the mother orders the children to keep quiet. Apparently, his role in the family structure prevents him from expressing his emotion directly to his children. Nevertheless, after a visit to the doctor, it turns out that the father’s internal organs are intact despite their state of severe deformation, which shows the father’s incredible determination to remain functional in his family role after his tragic loss. Ironically, the doctors “pronounced him in great health” (41), which implies that apparent defects in mental health could be suppressed by the father’s unwillingness to challenge his image as a man, thus they are not easily detectable. The father’s behavioral patterns after his father’s death are in accordance to many stereotypical views of men.

As a child, I watched Alfred Hitchcock Theater, The Twilight Zone and other science fiction or horror shows. Often times the storyline was based on a victim's mental problems or their skewed perception of the world. Looking back, I remember the fascination I felt when watching one specific episode of the Twillight Zone. In this particular episode, a man turned into a zombie by some type of poison. Essentially he was still alive, but he was dead to the world. In the end he was embalmed while he was completely conscious yet could not say anything to prevent it. Like this incident, every episode captivated me but when it was over I could sleep easy because there was no possibility of

The Cat In The Hat by Dr. Seuss, pseudonym of Theodor Seuss Geisel, tells a story of two children at home on a rainy day alone, being visited by the Cat in the Hat and the turmoil that he causes. The Cat In The Hat is clearly Geisel’s most famous book, written in 1956 and published in 1957, considered a children’s classic today. It was The Cat In The Hat “where Dr. Seuss jubilantly breaks the barriers of the basal reader’s simplistic language and pedestrian artwork” (MacDonald 10). In The Cat In The Hat, Geisel uses this childish language and comical pictures as well as an interesting story and fun characters to not only create a successful children’s book but to deliver a subtle political message of rebellion against authority.