A Cringe Worthy Book

The Lobotomist: A Maverick Medical Genius and His Tragic Quest to Rid the World of Mental Illness by Jack El-Hai

Summary: "The Lobotomist" explores one of the darkest chapters of American medicine: the desperate attempt to treat the hundreds of thousands of psychiatric patients in need of help during the middle decades of the twentieth century. Into this crisis stepped Walter Freeman, M.D., who saw a solution in lobotomy, a brain operation intended to reduce the severity of psychotic symptoms. Drawing on Freeman's documents and interviews with Freeman's family, Jack El-Hai takes a penetrating look at the life and work of this complex scientific genius."The Lobotomist" explores one of the darkest chapters of American medicine: the desperate attempt to treat the hundreds of thousands of psychiatric patients in need of help during the middle decades of the twentieth century. Into this crisis stepped Walter Freeman, M.D., who saw a solution in lobotomy, a brain operation intended to reduce the severity of psychotic symptoms. Although many patients did not benefit from the thousands of lobotomies Freeman performed, others believed their lobotomies changed them for the better. Drawing on a rich collection of documents Freeman left behind and interviews with Freeman's family, Jack El-Hai takes a penetrating look into the life of this complex scientific genius and traces the physician's fascinating life and work.

Review: An incredible, horrifying, and unflinching story about the man who popularized lobotomies.

I must admit that reading this book made me a little squeamish. The book certainly spares no details when it comes to describing lobotomies. Lobotomies are downright horrifying and I cannot imagine having that done to me nor can I imagine that being considered a legitimate treatment of mental illness. The treatment of mental illness is a fascinating subject, especially when one is talking about treatments that were once considered good or forward thinking. The book provides some background into why psycho-surgery became the norm for a while, but focuses mainly on Dr. Freeman.

I found myself wanting to dislike Walter Freeman for he did such terrible things to so many people. While I feel like El-Hai glossed over some of the worst aspects of Dr. Freeman, in general I found him to be more misguided than evil. He was driven by recognition, status, and a desire to help people although that desire often took misguided paths. What really got me was that he really seemed to believe that he was helping the patients whom he lobotomized. I am so glad that lobotomies are not done anymore. 

Rating:

Recommendation: I would recommend this book to those that are interested in mental health.