My Lobotomy

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My Lobotomy

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 transorbitalâ€”or ice pickâ€”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 wasnâ€™t until he was in his forties that Howard began to pull his life together. But even as he began to live the â€œnormalâ€ life he had been denied, Howard struggled with one question: Why?

â€œOctober 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, wonâ€™t let the boy speak for himself, and calls him numbskull, dimwit, and other uncomplimentary names.â€

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 doctorâ€™s attention; and his father, Rodney. Of the three, only Rodney, the man who hadnâ€™t intervened on his sonâ€™s behalf, was still living. Time was running out. Stable and happy for the first time in decades, Howard began to search for answers.

â€œDecember 3, 1960. Mr. and Mrs. Dully have apparently decided to have Howard operated on. I suggested [they] not tell Howard anything about it.â€

Through his research, Howard met other lobotomy patients and their families, talked with one of Freemanâ€™s sons about his fatherâ€™s controversial lifeâ€™s work, and confronted Rodney about his complicity. And, in the archive where the doctorâ€™s files are stored, he finally came face to face with the truth.

Revealing what happened to a child no oneâ€”not his father, not the medical community, not the stateâ€”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.

Country	USA
Binding	Kindle Edition
EISBN	9780307407672
Format	Kindle eBook
Label	Broadway Books
Manufacturer	Broadway Books
NumberOfPages	290
PublicationDate	2007-09-04
Publisher	Broadway Books
ReleaseDate	2007-09-04
Studio	Broadway Books

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