What do you think?
Rate this book
Lucy: Growing Up Human: A Chimpanzee Daughter in a Psychotherapist's Family
Lucy's incredibly human-like behavior is described as well as her family relationships, sexual development, and participation in encounter group sessions
- GenresNonfiction
216 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1976
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 23, 2014
Learning about Lucy was very interesting but I did not care for the author.
January 24, 2025
ANOTHER STUDY OF RAISING A CHIMP IN A HUMAN FAMILY
Psychotherapist Maurice Temerlin (1924-1988) wrote in the Preface to this 1975 book, “Ten years ago my wife Jane and I began an intensive study of the development of a female chimpanzee named Lucy, who was raised from birth to maturity under unique conditions. Removed from her mother shortly after birth, Lucy was taken into our home and raised as much as possible as though she were a human being… she never saw another chimpanzee, so that she could learn whatever she learned only from human beings… Comparing Lucy to chimpanzees in nature (and with humans her age) might then tell us something of the effects of family life on the process of growing up human. As we lived with Lucy… I began to think our unique case study had an ever broader significance: As we observed Lucy struggle with dependence and helplessness, love and sex, rejection and discipline, separation and death, I began to think we were studying the basic dimensions of the human condition itself.” (Pg. ix-x)
He acknowledges, “I was teaching and practicing psychotherapy while Lucy was growing up, and I was in psychotherapy as a patient several times during this period. Often I was growing as a person myself; more often I was stagnating. In either case, I tried to stay aware of what was going on in myself and in Lucy. In this book I often write about my feelings and thoughts and therapy, perhaps as much as I write about Lucy… Our lives were organized around Lucy for almost ten years… One of us was always with Lucy… In spite of the social isolation and restrictions raising Lucy imposed upon us, some of the greatest joys of my life came from my years with Lucy. Lucy gave me many new insights, not only into herself or chimpanzees in general, but knowledge of myself as a human being and of the growth process, both in and out of psychotherapy.” (Pg. xi-xii) He adds, “She was as much in my heart and mind as was my son, Steve, or my wife, Jane... She influenced me … far more than I influenced her.” (Pg. xxii)
He states, “I have heard half a dozen experts say that chimpanzees can be toilet-trained, but I do not believe it. I have even heard Jane say that she had seen an infant chimp who was toilet-trained… I do not believe it. I saw that particular chimp, and though he might have been toilet-trained, in one sense, he impressed me as being ‘over-trained’ to the point of being an obsessional neurotic with impulse and constipation problems... Be that as it may, we have never been able to completely toilet-train Lucy… she is always careful to retain part of her feces and urine so that they may be deposited … in the most inappropriate, inaccessible, and difficult-to-clean place.” (Pg. 21) He continues, “I think Jane never really accepted, as the parents of retarded humans frequently cannot accept, that her baby was retarded in the area of toilet training. Lucy is a genius chimp intellectually, but she is ‘stupid’ and rebellious fecally.” (Pg. 23)
He also suggests, “In some ways Lucy is an ideal drinking companion. She is appreciative… She never gets obnoxious, even when smashed to the brink of unconsciousness. Alcohol relaxes her and it improves her humor, for she laughs and laughs… There was another reason I enjoyed drinking with Lucy. I had felt guilt at offering Steve liquor when he was pubescent or even when he was a teenager. He was too young… and besides, what would the neighbors think? But I had none of these feelings with Lucy. So every night before dinner we would fix Lucy a cocktail or two… for several years I had an unlocked liquor cabinet… and Lucy would love to raid it.” (Pg. 43-45)
He asserts, “I have often been amazed at the behavioral psychologists who for years thought that the human being was the only animal that had consciousness and foresight. Traveling with Lucy in the front seat of the car illustrates the absurdity of that idea. She carefully watches the road, and if we are going too fast she gets nervous and starts to rock.” (Pg. 63)
A psychotherapist named Natasha “asked a question most people ask sooner or later, ‘What’s Lucy’s intelligence?’ [He answered] ‘It depends on where you measure it---she’s mentally retarded in the classroom and brighter than Einstein in the woods.’” (Pg. 69)
He recounts, “I … had a cassette recording of African wildlife sounds. None of them was chimpanzee sounds, but there were sounds of a leopard, African lions, elephants, vervet monkeys, and a rhinoceros snorting… [Lucy] was fascinated… I found this interesting, as I had a fantasy about Jung’s concept of racial memories. Lucy, of course, has never heard … jungle sounds… She was fascinated nonetheless.” (Pg. 73)
He reports, “Lucy became proficient and creative in the use of many different tools. One aspect of Lucy’s use of tools illustrates her potential for becoming human through social learning. Her resemblance to man, particularly to primitive man at his most uninhibited, is striking. We have seen Lucy use correctly the following tools: spoon, knife, fork… cigarette lighter… matches… pliers… toothpick… screwdriver… shears, tricycle… to name but a few.” (Pg. 90)
He notes, “It remained for two comparative psychologists, Allen and Beatrice Gardner… to prove beyond doubt that chimpanzees could be taught a language and then communicate across the barrier of species… The Gardners had a student, Roger Fouts, who received his Ph.D. for his work with them… We cooperated with Roger… because we felt the broadened social contact would be good for Lucy… Learning ASL [American Sign Language] has enriched her life. It gave her the power to ask questions about her environment… she now asks, ‘What’s that?’ Interestingly, she has never asked ‘why’?” (Pg. 102, 104, 109)
He records, “14 or 15 days after the beginning of menstruation Lucy’s genitals became enlarged... [This] represented sexual receptivity… when she desired copulation and [had] ova available for sperm, Lucy totally rejected me. She would not hug me. She would not kiss me… Yet during the same period she made the most blatant and obvious sexual invitations to other men… even with a stranger…’ (Pg.119-120)
He explains, “Lucy controls aggression and hostility, but the controls are her own. She has demonstrated little capacity to acquire middle-class values and controls over these emotions. We know that she can control them, but the standards are her own.” (Pg. 165)
He points out, “I could never discern [in Lucy] a preference for toys or actions commonly labeled as ‘feminine’ or ‘masculine.’ This may be one reason why Lucy seems so much freer to enjoy play than the average human being… In other words, Lucy may have no concept that a ‘nice girl’ wouldn’t do this or that, so her behavioral repertoire is not limited by sex-role stereotypes. I believe this lack of sexual stereotyping has also made her sexual behavior more flexible.” (Pg. 187)
He concludes, “The story of Lucy Temerlin is not finished. Jane and Steve and I talk constantly about it, but it is very complicated, for we want to live normal lives now, though we are still committed to Lucy. All I can say definitely … is that part of the earnings from this book will be used to establish a trust fund for Lucy, to provide for her care and comfort throughout her life.” (Pg. 195)
This book will be of keen interest to those studying animal language/consciousness, and related topics.
(Earlier attempts to raise apes in a family setting include W.N. Kellogg: ‘The Ape and the Child,’ Augusta Maria Hoyt: ‘Toto and I: A Gorilla In the Family,’ and Cathy Hayes: ‘The Ape In Our House.’)
Psychotherapist Maurice Temerlin (1924-1988) wrote in the Preface to this 1975 book, “Ten years ago my wife Jane and I began an intensive study of the development of a female chimpanzee named Lucy, who was raised from birth to maturity under unique conditions. Removed from her mother shortly after birth, Lucy was taken into our home and raised as much as possible as though she were a human being… she never saw another chimpanzee, so that she could learn whatever she learned only from human beings… Comparing Lucy to chimpanzees in nature (and with humans her age) might then tell us something of the effects of family life on the process of growing up human. As we lived with Lucy… I began to think our unique case study had an ever broader significance: As we observed Lucy struggle with dependence and helplessness, love and sex, rejection and discipline, separation and death, I began to think we were studying the basic dimensions of the human condition itself.” (Pg. ix-x)
He acknowledges, “I was teaching and practicing psychotherapy while Lucy was growing up, and I was in psychotherapy as a patient several times during this period. Often I was growing as a person myself; more often I was stagnating. In either case, I tried to stay aware of what was going on in myself and in Lucy. In this book I often write about my feelings and thoughts and therapy, perhaps as much as I write about Lucy… Our lives were organized around Lucy for almost ten years… One of us was always with Lucy… In spite of the social isolation and restrictions raising Lucy imposed upon us, some of the greatest joys of my life came from my years with Lucy. Lucy gave me many new insights, not only into herself or chimpanzees in general, but knowledge of myself as a human being and of the growth process, both in and out of psychotherapy.” (Pg. xi-xii) He adds, “She was as much in my heart and mind as was my son, Steve, or my wife, Jane... She influenced me … far more than I influenced her.” (Pg. xxii)
He states, “I have heard half a dozen experts say that chimpanzees can be toilet-trained, but I do not believe it. I have even heard Jane say that she had seen an infant chimp who was toilet-trained… I do not believe it. I saw that particular chimp, and though he might have been toilet-trained, in one sense, he impressed me as being ‘over-trained’ to the point of being an obsessional neurotic with impulse and constipation problems... Be that as it may, we have never been able to completely toilet-train Lucy… she is always careful to retain part of her feces and urine so that they may be deposited … in the most inappropriate, inaccessible, and difficult-to-clean place.” (Pg. 21) He continues, “I think Jane never really accepted, as the parents of retarded humans frequently cannot accept, that her baby was retarded in the area of toilet training. Lucy is a genius chimp intellectually, but she is ‘stupid’ and rebellious fecally.” (Pg. 23)
He also suggests, “In some ways Lucy is an ideal drinking companion. She is appreciative… She never gets obnoxious, even when smashed to the brink of unconsciousness. Alcohol relaxes her and it improves her humor, for she laughs and laughs… There was another reason I enjoyed drinking with Lucy. I had felt guilt at offering Steve liquor when he was pubescent or even when he was a teenager. He was too young… and besides, what would the neighbors think? But I had none of these feelings with Lucy. So every night before dinner we would fix Lucy a cocktail or two… for several years I had an unlocked liquor cabinet… and Lucy would love to raid it.” (Pg. 43-45)
He asserts, “I have often been amazed at the behavioral psychologists who for years thought that the human being was the only animal that had consciousness and foresight. Traveling with Lucy in the front seat of the car illustrates the absurdity of that idea. She carefully watches the road, and if we are going too fast she gets nervous and starts to rock.” (Pg. 63)
A psychotherapist named Natasha “asked a question most people ask sooner or later, ‘What’s Lucy’s intelligence?’ [He answered] ‘It depends on where you measure it---she’s mentally retarded in the classroom and brighter than Einstein in the woods.’” (Pg. 69)
He recounts, “I … had a cassette recording of African wildlife sounds. None of them was chimpanzee sounds, but there were sounds of a leopard, African lions, elephants, vervet monkeys, and a rhinoceros snorting… [Lucy] was fascinated… I found this interesting, as I had a fantasy about Jung’s concept of racial memories. Lucy, of course, has never heard … jungle sounds… She was fascinated nonetheless.” (Pg. 73)
He reports, “Lucy became proficient and creative in the use of many different tools. One aspect of Lucy’s use of tools illustrates her potential for becoming human through social learning. Her resemblance to man, particularly to primitive man at his most uninhibited, is striking. We have seen Lucy use correctly the following tools: spoon, knife, fork… cigarette lighter… matches… pliers… toothpick… screwdriver… shears, tricycle… to name but a few.” (Pg. 90)
He notes, “It remained for two comparative psychologists, Allen and Beatrice Gardner… to prove beyond doubt that chimpanzees could be taught a language and then communicate across the barrier of species… The Gardners had a student, Roger Fouts, who received his Ph.D. for his work with them… We cooperated with Roger… because we felt the broadened social contact would be good for Lucy… Learning ASL [American Sign Language] has enriched her life. It gave her the power to ask questions about her environment… she now asks, ‘What’s that?’ Interestingly, she has never asked ‘why’?” (Pg. 102, 104, 109)
He records, “14 or 15 days after the beginning of menstruation Lucy’s genitals became enlarged... [This] represented sexual receptivity… when she desired copulation and [had] ova available for sperm, Lucy totally rejected me. She would not hug me. She would not kiss me… Yet during the same period she made the most blatant and obvious sexual invitations to other men… even with a stranger…’ (Pg.119-120)
He explains, “Lucy controls aggression and hostility, but the controls are her own. She has demonstrated little capacity to acquire middle-class values and controls over these emotions. We know that she can control them, but the standards are her own.” (Pg. 165)
He points out, “I could never discern [in Lucy] a preference for toys or actions commonly labeled as ‘feminine’ or ‘masculine.’ This may be one reason why Lucy seems so much freer to enjoy play than the average human being… In other words, Lucy may have no concept that a ‘nice girl’ wouldn’t do this or that, so her behavioral repertoire is not limited by sex-role stereotypes. I believe this lack of sexual stereotyping has also made her sexual behavior more flexible.” (Pg. 187)
He concludes, “The story of Lucy Temerlin is not finished. Jane and Steve and I talk constantly about it, but it is very complicated, for we want to live normal lives now, though we are still committed to Lucy. All I can say definitely … is that part of the earnings from this book will be used to establish a trust fund for Lucy, to provide for her care and comfort throughout her life.” (Pg. 195)
This book will be of keen interest to those studying animal language/consciousness, and related topics.
(Earlier attempts to raise apes in a family setting include W.N. Kellogg: ‘The Ape and the Child,’ Augusta Maria Hoyt: ‘Toto and I: A Gorilla In the Family,’ and Cathy Hayes: ‘The Ape In Our House.’)
April 20, 2010
Not sure I'd say the writing was worth 5 stars, but the story is incredibly fascinating. Learning about Lucy and how she adapted to living with humans is incredible and also learning that the author was completely off his rocker was just too good to be made up.
Want to Read
August 25, 2016not on overdrive
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews