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My Lobotomy | 
 enlarge | Authors: Howard Dully, Charles Fleming
Publisher: Three Rivers Press
Category: Book
List Price: $13.95
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Rating:  24 reviews
Sales Rank: 14156
Media: Paperback
Edition: Reprint
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 304
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.8
ISBN: 0307381277
Dewey Decimal Number: 920
EAN: 9780307381279
ASIN: 0307381277
Publication Date: August 26, 2008
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Product Description
At twelve, Howard Dully was guilty of the same crimes as other boys his age: he was moody and messy, rambunctious with his brothers, contrary just to prove a point, and perpetually at odds with his parents. Yet somehow, this normal boy became one of the youngest people on whom Dr. Walter Freeman performed his barbaric transorbital—or ice pick—lobotomy.
Abandoned by his family within a year of the surgery, Howard spent his teen years in mental institutions, his twenties in jail, and his thirties in a bottle. It wasn’t until he was in his forties that Howard began to pull his life together. But even as he began to live the “normal” life he had been denied, Howard struggled with one question: Why?
“October 8, 1960. I gather that Mrs. Dully is perpetually talking, admonishing, correcting, and getting worked up into a spasm, whereas her husband is impatient, explosive, rather brutal, won’t let the boy speak for himself, and calls him numbskull, dimwit, and other uncomplimentary names.”
There were only three people who would know the truth: Freeman, the man who performed the procedure; Lou, his cold and demanding stepmother who brought Howard to the doctor’s attention; and his father, Rodney. Of the three, only Rodney, the man who hadn’t intervened on his son’s behalf, was still living. Time was running out. Stable and happy for the first time in decades, Howard began to search for answers.
“December 3, 1960. Mr. and Mrs. Dully have apparently decided to have Howard operated on. I suggested [they] not tell Howard anything about it.”
Through his research, Howard met other lobotomy patients and their families, talked with one of Freeman’s sons about his father’s controversial life’s work, and confronted Rodney about his complicity. And, in the archive where the doctor’s files are stored, he finally came face to face with the truth.
Revealing what happened to a child no one—not his father, not the medical community, not the state—was willing to protect, My Lobotomy exposes a shameful chapter in the history of the treatment of mental illness. Yet, ultimately, this is a powerful and moving chronicle of the life of one man. Without reticence, Howard Dully shares the story of a painfully dysfunctional childhood, a misspent youth, his struggle to claim the life that was taken from him, and his redemption.
From the Hardcover edition.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 19 more reviews...
 my lobotomy, review by a reader January 6, 2009
This book offers a unique insight to a first hand experience of a person whose life was greatly affected by the cruel lobotomy procedure. Although quite interesting, the information is vague. Is this the point the author is attempting to convey--that the event of the lobotomy itself was based upon little information? During much of the book the author seems to have little memory of what is happening, and although various acquaintances are referenced for the material it seems that no one really has any idea what was going on during the events of the book. Again, this is difficult to determine wether this is the author's point or the author's negligence.
I recommend this memoir to those seeking a memoir, not to those seeking a clinical or psychological account from a first-person narrative. Entertaining and chillingly touching, a good read with good substance, My Lobotomy, is a provoking tale.
 Anyone curious about the brain needs to read this book December 4, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
You've read that this book is moving, emotional, triumphant - those are all true.
What makes Howard's story unique is not the struggles with addiction, stability, relationships or the abusive home he came from - it's that he survived those things AND an evil doctor hell-bent on fame and the brutal destruction of part of Howard's brain. Just the fact that Howard survived at all, let alone THRIVED is powerful.
Howard's compassion towards those who brutalized him, his inner drive for peace, and his willingness to make himself vulnerable telling his story because it heals others will have you in tears.
Those interested in neuroscience must get the paperback with the description of the MRIs performed later in Howard's life...
 Interesting book November 17, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This was an interesting book. I would not say it was my favorite but it certainly kept my attention until the end.
A Human Face to Modern Medical Misfortune November 9, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
I received a free copy of this book and wondered if I would be interested. As I rode the subway home from work that day I opened the cover and read all the way until I nearly smacked into my own front door. I could not put the book down. With the aid of Charles Fleming, Howard Dully tells a riveting story of parental neglect and abuse and the terrible outcomes, but he does it with nary a sense of self pity. This book is beautifully written in simple language and puts a human face on a tragic procedure most of us today know little of. This book appealed to my love of memoirs and my interest in medical history. It is heartwrenching and yet leaves one with hope. I applaud Mr. Dully for letting the world know his story, and I encourage anyone who finds this page to get the book--I doubt you will be disappointed.
an authentic voice October 14, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
howard dully lost a loving mom when he was a little kid. and life was never the same. dad remarried, and the new stepmom clearly had significant issues. one way this played out was in a deep hatred for howard, which she externalized and placed all the blame for at howard's feet.
by the time howard was 12, his stepmom had so convinced herself that he had uncontrollable rage, was dangerous to the family, and a host of others issues (none of which seemed to be substantiated from any other perspective), and convinced her husband (howard's birth father), and a doctor, that howard needed a lobotomy. this was the 1960s, and the doctor was walter freeman, creator of the "ice pick lobotomy" (which he performed on 3500 patients).
as you might expect, howard's non-existent problems were not solved. but the life of a 12 year-old took a decided turn from bad to worse.
"my lobotomy" is howard's first-person, autobiographical account of his life story. it's a seriously painful story to read, especially for youth workers who care about teenagers, and can see the stories of so many teenagers we know (even if they haven't had lobotomies!) in howard's story. it's a story of the paths one ends up walking when love, stability, encouragement, and direction aren't present.
written in a simple voice that was initially a bit annoying to me, but grew so authentic, i came to deeply appreciate that it wasn't overly polished by the co-author, my lobotomy has all kinds of implications for youth workers and parents and anyone else who cares about teenagers.
thankfully, it's also a story of redemption. howard, in the later years of his life, has beautifully come to terms with his story, and shows a level of grace (even toward his now-deceased father and stepmother) that is breathtaking.
this is not a book of answers. but it's a real life story of hurt and healing.
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