736 entries.
Pamela Yew Schwartz
from New York
Dear Dr. Sacks,
I cannot thank you enough for so many things that you have done and shared of your life, knowledge, intelligence, care and of yourself over the past years.
You spend time with our two children some 20 years ago, who have Achromatopsia and I remember so vividly, when you and Kate came over to our apartment and evaluated them with the Ishihara color vision test. You said that they shared/have something (implying positively) that the rest of us do not have. That seemingly simple reframe has stayed with me and with them, that they are special, have challenges like anyone else, and not a disability, just different. You also believed that the human brain does not waste what is not used. I was so impressed when you said you would like to have your brain stimulated to experience what their vision might be like, to have a subjective understanding of their condition. Few doctors go so far to consider that. I wanted to let you know that my kids are today young independent adults, doing well and involved in public service and hopefully helping others in some small way, as your legacy has so inspired.
Your recounting of your unfortunate accident in "A Leg to Stand On" and how you appreciate the patient's experience, speaks volumes of how you work as a professional. Personally, that has inspired me as a clinician in the work I do, to really try to put myself in my patients' shoes and to try to subjectively see, intuit and appreciate their experience. Thank you for this and I have tried to use this in my daily clinical encounters.
Your sharing of your current journey has been touching and inspirational, to say the least. While it is very sad to know what you are going through, I cannot tell you how appreciative I am and many of us are, of your courage and openness in sharing your process. For the last 8 years, I have been working in a hospice program and in bereavement work. When your Op-Ed article "My Own Life" came out in February, we shared it widely in our hospice community (VNSNY Hospice & Palliative Care). Everyone, to the person, was so moved by it and grateful that you shared so openly. You articulated so clearly, movingly, honestly and realistically what you were going through. I have no doubt that you have validated, comforted and provided encouragement and hope for others, who are on similar journeys. You are a wonderful role model for many, to live this part of life, a part that all of us will live sooner or later. Thank you.
Please know that you have inspired, helped, educated the world in so many ways and no amount of gratitude and appreciation is sufficient to thank you for how you devoted and shared your life with us. You certainly touched mine and my family and we are profoundly grateful. Thank you Dr. Sacks and if I can be of any help and support at this time, along side your journey, please, please let me know.
You will always be here and loved .
Always,
Pam Yew Schwartz and family (Paul, Raphy & Rachel)
Robyn Kondrad
from Boone
Dear Dr. Sacks,
I was first introduced to your writings as an undergraduate at the College of William and Mary in a psychology course. As a graduate student in psychology at the University of Virginia and a faculty member on the Semester at Sea voyage around the world, I had the opportunity to teach Music and Cognition with an ethnomusicologist. We used Musicophilia in our class. Now, as a faculty member at Appalachian State University, I introduce my psychology students to your writings with excerpts from several of your books. Invariably, your work stimulates, fascinates, and motivates them.
Thank you for your work. They will live on forever, they will make a difference forever, and they will matter forever. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Dr. Robyn Kondrad
Appalachian State University
Director, AGE Labs
Cantor Judith Borden Ovadia
from Boynton Beach
Dear Dr. Sacks,
Thank you so much for teaching me, entertaining me, inspiring me, and uplifting me through your work. Since I was a child, I have enjoyed your books and articles. They have taught me about my world and about my miracle of a body and mind. I became a lover of science, and I learned to embrace my own bumpy path through life as precious and worthy, perhaps even capable of inspiring others as you have inspired me.
My son and I have complicated symptoms of dysautonomia, and it was years of reading your books that gave me the language and curiosity, as well as the sense of entitlement to pursue healing for both of us in the face of medical professionals who lacked the knowledge or curiosity to ask the right questions. Fortunately, we found some of the answers and your book, Migraine, was invaluable in the process.
Thank you and Godspeed. You have blessed my life in such a profound way.
Bill Britton
from Vero Beach, FL
I've been stimulated by you books, and today, moved by your column in the NYT. A few years ago, I wrote this poem while gazing up toward the infinite night-time sky:
The Old Lakota
by Bill Britton
I lie upon still-dry grass
and watch planets gain transcendence
over skies deserted by the falling sun.
Pinpoints of more distant suns flicker on,
as the sky draws a black blanket
across its shoulders from east to west.
The canopy spins above me,
and I reach to touch its pivot at Polaris
and feel it twist upon my fingertips.
Waving drapes of northern light
appear above the line of trees
and close the show on polar constellations.
From the outer dark, a whippoorwill
sends its soft request to tryst
among the hemlock boughs.
Dew moves along my limbs
and settles at my collar, forming beads
of glass beetles at its edge.
I stand, shaking cold from my clothes,
and turn toward the distant glow
of the embering campfire.
I hear the call of my ancestors
whisper through the night mist
as I reach toward their down-clasping hands.
Jeffrey Bishop
from Kansas City
Dr. Sacks,
It has been my pleasure to get to know your kindness, your inquisitiveness, and your passion for your work through your literature. I recently completed my PhD ( in music education) and am revisiting "Musicophilia" as part of my summer of books I "want" to read (rather than have to). You have been a source of inspiration and I was dumbfounded when I read your OpEd piece in the NY Times today. I am so sorry that you're sick. I hope that you're able to find comfort in the fact that you have given me, and thousands of other people like me, joy through your writing. I finished "On the Move" just before starting "Musicophilia" again, and usually I would not stick with the same author for two books in a row. But something made me pick that one up. Now I know. It is our chance to share our mutual passions together once more. Words cannot express the deep sadness I have at your impending passing, and I hope you do not mind if I say a little prayer for you this evening. God speed, Dr. Sacks. You will be missed.
Allyson Harper
from Minneapolis
Dr. Sacks,
I was listening to your interview on Radiolab today and wanted to share my experiences with the color indigo.
I had a particularly intense period of psychic experiences in 1980, when I first noticed the images always had an aura of indigo.
Many years and experiences since then, I have come to associate the indigo with "deep space" from which the image or thought "rises to consciousness".
I would love to know what you thought about this!
I'm so sorry to hear about your diagnosis! I lost my beloved to liver cancer, as well, in April.
I will miss both of your brilliant and unique minds & voices.
Love & peace
Lois Charles
from Seattle
A number of years ago my now deceased husband and I met you (Dr. Sacks) in New Orleans where you were on a book tour: The Man who Mistook his Wife for a Hat, I believe. We were your escorts (tag team) and it was quite a wonderful experience for us both. We often talked about your intellect
and warmth and willingness to enjoy life. There was something very special about you and we both felt honored to know you. I admit that I did refer to you as Twiddle Dee; you were heavy and wore these great suspenders.and looked like a character out of Alice in Wonderland.
This morning I read your article, My Periodic Table, and realized that you are as gentle and loving in sharing your death with us as you were in sharing your life., character flaws and all in On The Move , definitely my favorite.
May we all enjoy whatever time we have left.
Melanie Forse
from Stratford-upon-Avon UK
Dear Dr. Sacks,
I have been reading your books since I first heard about the story of the 'awakening' patients, and I have been inspired by your empathy, your courage and your decency as their physician. The honesty that comes across to the reader is disarming and sometimes surprising. My work has been in health, although in Acupuncture which is removed from your field. However you have taught me to be curious and not be cowed by things that I don't understand, but to keep looking. I have enjoyed every one of your books and I thank you for them. I always feel I am listening to a friend when I read one. Any physician I see has to measure up to you - a very hard act to follow.
With very best wishes, Melanie Forse
Nikolas Koscielniak
from Ann Arbor, MI
Dear Dr. Sacks,
Your books have opened up a world full of new ways of analyzing all of my patients. If it was not for your books the man who mistook his wife for his hat, hallucinations and musicophilia, I would not be the inquisitive clinician I am today.
Thank you
Dan Schulman
from Austin
You are an inspiration of overflowing creativity and curiousity and an inspiration to me. Your creative mind reveals the curious nature that binds us all. Your creative eye sees the unovious and makes us all more aware and curious. Your gentle soul is a blessing to all who are curious. Thank you
Peter Liepmann MD
from Bakersfield
A great teacher and role model at the Beth Abraham Nursing Home. His stories about encephalitis patients and their response to L-DOPA inspired me & stimulated thought. Thank you.
Shane T.
from Milwaukee, WI
Dr. Sacks, you've never met me, but I was introduced to your work through "The Island of the Colorblind". Just recently, for my 35th year, I received a copy of your book "Uncle Tungsten" and it blew me away.
You may never see this, but I wanted to let you know that you've inspired me and I can only hope one day to see the world through your eyes. Rather, my eyes, but your vision.
Thank you for all you've done and for your impact on my life.
-S.T.
judith shuster
from philadelphia pa
Dear Oliver,
I just finished reading your piece in the New York Times. Once more I am in awe of you. The clarity of your words and the images that one conjures of the glorious night sky filled with the twinkling stars which illuminate one's interior and exterior universe. You have been the spark of light which has given me hope and inspiration thru your wonderful words and images. In this complex and glorious world of words, sounds, numbers, periodic tables which resonate forever because of your lively exploration into the mysteries of our physical planet and beyond; it has been a magical ride.
Thank you so much for all your beautiful books. Thank you for enriching my life and keeping hope alive. Good night sweet Prince!
Judith A. Shuster
Patrick Monnier
from Fort Collins
Dear Oliver,
Just a quick note to let you know that you, your work, your ability to make difficult concepts understandable, have touched me and many of my students I have shared your insight with in a deep and meaningful way. I have relied countless times on your keen ability to vulgarize and entertain and I can guarantee you my students are thankful for than, and so am I.
Students often enjoy me talking about my scientific heroes, and yes Mr. Sacks, you are on that very short list.
Thank you.
Patrick Monnier, PhD (Psychology)
Liz O'Shea
from Calgary, AB, Canada
Today I had the lucky experience of listening to the recent radiolab interview with you. I love so much how you have been able to tell stories of people living with their complicated brains that it was a real privilege to be allowed to "meet" you today and hear some of your story. I am so happy that you have someone special who has "conceived a love for you." I hope your days are full and rich and busy. And I hope you figure out how to show us all what indigo really looks like! Thank you.
Beverly Jones
from Chimayo
Dear Dr. Sacks,
Over the years, your writings have fascinated me--the mind, the brain, are so much more devious than I had ever imagined. A few years ago, you published an article in The New Yorker that changed my life.
I've always been socially awkward. In high school, when I first started changing classes, I often found myself looking at people in the halls and on the stairs, trying to figure out whether or not they were people I knew. I was often afraid of making a fool of myself by speaking to them if they proved to be strangers. A so-called friend informed me that I had a reputation for being "stuck up". And on and on, through the years.
Shortly before I read your article I'd had another experience of failing to recognize someone and I remember clearly asking myself, "Am I so damned self-involved that I can talk to someone for 20 minutes at a party and not even recognize them the next time I see them? What in hell is the matter with me?"
My prosopagnosia is not as severe as yours, but having a word for it and knowing other people have it, too has taken it out of the category of personal failure and given me something to work with. I now consciously look for things--hair, facial hair, a distinctive wedding ring, glasses--to help with recognition. I still misfire at times, especially with women who have changed their hair color, but I'm more comfortable with myself and with saying to people, I'm sorry I didn't recognize you, I have a problem with facial recognition. And that's usually the end of it. No one asks me to explain.
I'm so sorry to read of your illness, and I'm in awe of your willingness to be fully in and aware of this new experience. Godspeed in your present journey and thank you for your divine curiosity, your always absorbing books, and for the new perspective you gave me on my own experience.
Saludos,
Beverly Jones
Grant Wager
from Ottawa
Dr. Sacks,
I have long enjoyed your work and your many appearances on Radiolab. You are much loved around the world.
Cheers,
Grant Wager, C.D.
Harriet Jacobster
from New York
Dear Dr. Sacks,
I first "met" you about almost 40 years ago when my own neurologist recommended I read Migraine. Being a migraineur, it was as if you were looking into my own head. I fell in love with you at that moment. As an audiologist, your Seeing Voices is not only on my Top 10 list, but I recommend it to my own students. As a musician, your Musicophilia struck a note. Your writings seem to shadow my own life. And I cannot imagine a life without you.
Thank you....thank you for being you. I wish you a peaceful journey to Olam Haba.
Robert
from Huntington
Dr. Sacks,
I've just read your poignant piece in the NYTimes and I am moved to tears. You have brought enlightenment and humor, compassion and insight everywhere you've gone. Your polymathic catalogue of interests inspires us all. As you embark on your latest journey I wish you G-d's speed and send you absolute assurance that you've lived a life of notable consequence. Your accomplishments will surely endure and in the end that is all one can ask.
Mary Anne Saldaen
from From San Diego, CA but currently in London
I read 'My Period Table' today and it led me to this site. My first experience with your work was actually through the film adaptation of Awakenings and saw it when I was 5 years old, which piqued my interest in medicine and the brain. I started college a few years ago and in a neuroscience class, Mind's Eye was on the reading list and recognized it was from the same person who wrote the inspiration for that film. Thank you for sharing your stories through the years. It was your work that helped influenced my interest in the mind. I may have found my interest in neuroscience a bit later than I did or possibly in something else if it was not for your authorship.
Happy belated birthday and thank you for all you have done in the physical and biological science, and most of all thank you, writing about it all so beautifully. I hope to live just as well as you.
Cheers
