Awakenings by Oliver Sacks Summary
Overview of Awakenings
Oliver Sacks' "Awakenings" chronicles patients frozen by encephalitis lethargica, suddenly reawakened decades later. This masterpiece - praised by W.H. Auden and transformed into an Oscar-nominated film starring Robin Williams - explores profound questions about consciousness that continue to haunt modern neuroscience.
Similar books to Awakenings
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Points clés
Between Stillness and Motion: The Sleeping-Sickness Epidemic
Imagine waking up one morning to discover you're trapped inside your own body-conscious but unable to move, speak, or express yourself. This was the reality for victims of the mysterious encephalitis lethargica epidemic that swept across the globe between 1916 and 1927, affecting nearly five million people. Some fell into unbreakable comas lasting months, while others suffered relentless insomnia. Many who survived the acute phase later developed a peculiar aftermath-they became human statues, frozen in time. Unlike typical Parkinson's disease, these patients experienced profound "freezing"-becoming motionless for hours, days, or even years. As one patient, Frances D., perfectly described: "I cannot start and I cannot stop. Either I am held still, or I am forced to accelerate." What made these cases particularly haunting was that beneath their frozen exteriors, these patients remained intellectually intact-prisoners in their own bodies. By the 1960s, these forgotten patients had been institutionalized for decades, relegated to back wards of chronic hospitals. At Mount Carmel Hospital in New York, approximately eighty such patients lived in suspended animation, what neurologist von Economo called "extinct volcanoes." Some hadn't spoken or moved voluntarily in over forty years. They existed in what one patient described as "a bottomless darkness and unreality," conscious yet not fully awake.
The Chemical Key: L-DOPA Unlocks Frozen Lives
When Miracles Fade: The Tribulations
The Paradox of Presence: Hidden Abilities
The Human Element: Connection as Medicine
Beyond Medicine: The Awakened Mind
The Enduring Legacy: Humanity in Medicine
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Cree par des anciens de Columbia University a San Francisco
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"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."
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"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."
"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."
"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."
"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"
"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."
"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"
Cree par des anciens de Columbia University a San Francisco
"Instead of endless scrolling, I just hit play on BeFreed. It saves me so much time."
"I never knew where to start with nonfiction—BeFreed’s book lists turned into podcasts gave me a clear path."
"Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."
"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."
"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."
"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."
"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."
"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."
"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"
"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."
"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"
"Instead of endless scrolling, I just hit play on BeFreed. It saves me so much time."
"I never knew where to start with nonfiction—BeFreed’s book lists turned into podcasts gave me a clear path."
"Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."
"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."
"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."
"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."
"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."
"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."
"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"
"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."
"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"
"Instead of endless scrolling, I just hit play on BeFreed. It saves me so much time."
"I never knew where to start with nonfiction—BeFreed’s book lists turned into podcasts gave me a clear path."
"Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."
"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."
"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."
"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."
"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."
"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."
"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"
"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."
"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"
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