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Lost and Found: Memory, Identity and Who We Become When We're No Longer Ourselves
If a loved one changes as a result of a brain disorder, are they still the same person?
So begins a beautifully written and deeply moving book for our times, about who we become when our minds misbehave - from dementia and brain injury to sleep disorders, coma, and multiple personality disorder.
Dr Jules Montague is a neurologist who spends her days helping people who are experiencing dementia and other brain disorders.
In Lost and Found, she explores what remains of the person left behind when the pieces of their mind go missing. Along the way she answers fascinating questions about how we remember, think and behave. Why do some memories endure and others fade? Why do you sometimes forget why you went into a room? And what if rather than losing memories, your mind creates false ones - are they still yours, and do they still make you, you?
Yet there is more to identity than just memory. Who are we when we dream, fall unconscious or wake from a coma? What if our personality changes radically because of dementia or multiple personality disorder - are we still inherently the same person? And could a brain disorder awaken your creativity, release your talents, enhance your identity rather than damage it?
Blending first-hand accounts from the author's day-to-day medical work with the latest thinking into what makes us who we are, this is an unforgettable book about how we lose ourselves and those around us - and how we can be found again.
So begins a beautifully written and deeply moving book for our times, about who we become when our minds misbehave - from dementia and brain injury to sleep disorders, coma, and multiple personality disorder.
Dr Jules Montague is a neurologist who spends her days helping people who are experiencing dementia and other brain disorders.
In Lost and Found, she explores what remains of the person left behind when the pieces of their mind go missing. Along the way she answers fascinating questions about how we remember, think and behave. Why do some memories endure and others fade? Why do you sometimes forget why you went into a room? And what if rather than losing memories, your mind creates false ones - are they still yours, and do they still make you, you?
Yet there is more to identity than just memory. Who are we when we dream, fall unconscious or wake from a coma? What if our personality changes radically because of dementia or multiple personality disorder - are we still inherently the same person? And could a brain disorder awaken your creativity, release your talents, enhance your identity rather than damage it?
Blending first-hand accounts from the author's day-to-day medical work with the latest thinking into what makes us who we are, this is an unforgettable book about how we lose ourselves and those around us - and how we can be found again.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published March 7, 2018
24 people are currently reading
340 people want to read
About the author
Jules Montague
5 books15 followersTHE IMAGINARY PATIENT: May 12th 2022. As featured on BBC Radio 4 (Start the Week, Woman's Hour), Times Radio, in the Telegraph and Times, and at the Royal Institution. Telegraph Bestseller. Times Literary Supplement Shop Best New Books
NEW TEDx talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xKQF... How diagnosis can get us wrong | Dr Jules Montague |
LOST AND FOUND: as featured on BBC Radio 4, BBC Radio 3, Sky News, and in the Guardian, Telegraph, Sunday Times, The Scotsman, Independent, and the Irish Times.
Published internationally.
THE IMAGINARY PATIENT
The Imaginary Patient: How Diagnosis Gets Us Wrong (Granta 2022) explores how the practice of diagnosis is tainted by the forces of imperialism, politics, discrimination and Big Pharma. She speaks to parents fighting for recognition of their children’s symptoms; men and women whose bodies have been stigmatised by society; and to the families of young black men who are being diagnosed posthumously with a condition that could exonerate their killers. Through these stories of heart-break and resilience, Montague shines a light on the troubled state of diagnosis, and asks how we might begin to heal.
Praise for The Imaginary Patient:
'The Imaginary Patient is a great stride forward in the way medical stories are told. Nobody who reads it will experience a doctor's appointment the same way again. Montague's writing is empathetic, surprising and forensic all at once.'
Caroline Crampton, author of The Way to the Sea.
A shocking history of the many ways in which medical diagnoses have "shown themselves to be a form of obfuscation"... Heartbreaking... [it] will make you see doctors differently.
Telegraph ****
A compelling basis for change... A richly researched book that provides ample food for thought and ammunition for change in the way diagnosis is done
Medical Journalists' Association
Press for The Imaginary Patient: as featured on Times Radio, BBC Radio 4 (Woman's Hour, Start the Week) and in the Telegraph and Times.
BBC Radio 4:Start the Week, May 27th 2022 https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001...
BBC Radio: 4 Woman's Hour, May 11th 2022 https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001...
Times Radio: May 13th 2022 https://www.thetimes.co.uk/radio
Times Interview: May 17th 2022 https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/wh...
Bath Literary Festival: May 19th 2022 https://www.brlsi.org/whatson/delusio...
Royal Institution: June 16th 2022 https://www.rigb.org/whats-on/how-dia...
Telegraph: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/wha... Imaginary Patient
LOST AND FOUND: Why Losing Our Memories Doesn't Mean Losing Ourselves (Sceptre 2018), explores what remains of the person when the pieces of their mind go missing - from dementia and brain injury to sleep disorders and multiple personality disorder. Lost and Found, a bestseller, has featured on BBC Radio 4, BBC Radio 3, Sky News and in the Sunday Times Daily Mail, and Telegraph.
Praise for Lost and Found:
‘Montague is turning traditional thinking on its head in her beautifully written book about memory and identity’ The Times
‘Montague takes the reader on an exquisite journey into the human brain and beyond that. She does this with a humanity rich in tenderness and a beguiling reverence for the unknown. Occasionally we come across a physicist or economist who, despite their subject matter, can stop you in your tracks. They reel you in without you realising. Montague is a neurologist who does exactly that. She has a rare gift: she makes her craft look simple.’ Irish Times
‘A profoundly moving, revelatory book’ Daily Mail
Other press for Lost and Found below
BIO:
Doctor Jules Montague is a neurologist and author.
Originally from Ireland, Jules Montague studied Medicine at Tri
NEW TEDx talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xKQF... How diagnosis can get us wrong | Dr Jules Montague |
LOST AND FOUND: as featured on BBC Radio 4, BBC Radio 3, Sky News, and in the Guardian, Telegraph, Sunday Times, The Scotsman, Independent, and the Irish Times.
Published internationally.
THE IMAGINARY PATIENT
The Imaginary Patient: How Diagnosis Gets Us Wrong (Granta 2022) explores how the practice of diagnosis is tainted by the forces of imperialism, politics, discrimination and Big Pharma. She speaks to parents fighting for recognition of their children’s symptoms; men and women whose bodies have been stigmatised by society; and to the families of young black men who are being diagnosed posthumously with a condition that could exonerate their killers. Through these stories of heart-break and resilience, Montague shines a light on the troubled state of diagnosis, and asks how we might begin to heal.
Praise for The Imaginary Patient:
'The Imaginary Patient is a great stride forward in the way medical stories are told. Nobody who reads it will experience a doctor's appointment the same way again. Montague's writing is empathetic, surprising and forensic all at once.'
Caroline Crampton, author of The Way to the Sea.
A shocking history of the many ways in which medical diagnoses have "shown themselves to be a form of obfuscation"... Heartbreaking... [it] will make you see doctors differently.
Telegraph ****
A compelling basis for change... A richly researched book that provides ample food for thought and ammunition for change in the way diagnosis is done
Medical Journalists' Association
Press for The Imaginary Patient: as featured on Times Radio, BBC Radio 4 (Woman's Hour, Start the Week) and in the Telegraph and Times.
BBC Radio 4:Start the Week, May 27th 2022 https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001...
BBC Radio: 4 Woman's Hour, May 11th 2022 https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001...
Times Radio: May 13th 2022 https://www.thetimes.co.uk/radio
Times Interview: May 17th 2022 https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/wh...
Bath Literary Festival: May 19th 2022 https://www.brlsi.org/whatson/delusio...
Royal Institution: June 16th 2022 https://www.rigb.org/whats-on/how-dia...
Telegraph: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/wha... Imaginary Patient
LOST AND FOUND: Why Losing Our Memories Doesn't Mean Losing Ourselves (Sceptre 2018), explores what remains of the person when the pieces of their mind go missing - from dementia and brain injury to sleep disorders and multiple personality disorder. Lost and Found, a bestseller, has featured on BBC Radio 4, BBC Radio 3, Sky News and in the Sunday Times Daily Mail, and Telegraph.
Praise for Lost and Found:
‘Montague is turning traditional thinking on its head in her beautifully written book about memory and identity’ The Times
‘Montague takes the reader on an exquisite journey into the human brain and beyond that. She does this with a humanity rich in tenderness and a beguiling reverence for the unknown. Occasionally we come across a physicist or economist who, despite their subject matter, can stop you in your tracks. They reel you in without you realising. Montague is a neurologist who does exactly that. She has a rare gift: she makes her craft look simple.’ Irish Times
‘A profoundly moving, revelatory book’ Daily Mail
Other press for Lost and Found below
BIO:
Doctor Jules Montague is a neurologist and author.
Originally from Ireland, Jules Montague studied Medicine at Tri
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
October 25, 2019
Rating: 2.5
As the subtitle of her book suggests, consultant neurologist Jules Montague is interested in “memory, identity and who we become when we’re no longer ourselves”. She states up front that the concept of “identity” encompasses not just how we see ourselves but also how others see us. “Self”, on the other hand, “refers primarily to the experience of the individual, (a sense of one’s own being).”
Montague proceeds to look at a number of neurological (and some psychiatric) disorders, among them: Alzheimer’s Disease; Korsakoff syndrome (a chronic memory disorder caused by severe Vitamin B-1 deficiency, most commonly seen in longtime abusers of alcohol); dissociative amnesia/fugue states (in which patients’ autobiographical information is out of reach, often as the result of traumatic events); frontotemporal dementia (which has an earlier onset and a more significant inherited component than Alzheimer’s and is initially characterized not by memory loss but by dramatic, inappropriate behavioural change—think: kissing complete strangers or urinating in public); multiple personality disorder, now known as dissociative identity disorder; Parkinson’s Disease; and ALS.
The author doesn’t entirely restrict her discussion to those with brain disease. She also considers the unreliability of memory in neurologically normal people. Memories are not stable in any of us, Montague reminds the reader. A memory is rebuilt each time it is accessed, with new details added each time—based on what a person has experienced and learned since last calling up the memory. False memories can be implanted in anyone, and a person doesn’t have to be cognitively impaired to embellish, distort, or transpose details that are recollected.
In reading Montague’s book—a synthesis of philosophical, psychological, and neurological material—I was reminded of things I already knew about the way in which memory does and doesn’t work. I was also glad to encounter some new information. A few times, Montague makes pertinent observations about identity in patients with disordered brains, but sometimes the matter of identity takes a back seat to other details about the conditions. The author does note that family members are most likely to perceive a neurologically impaired loved one as essentially himself if his core moral faculties are preserved—that is, if he still shows empathy, gratitude, a sense of fairness, and a willingness to cooperate, etc. (The loss of other mental faculties does not seem to matter as much for a patient to continue to be seen as himself.) Montague also refers to interesting research on patients with semantic dementia, a kind of frontotemporal dementia which causes the loss of language abilities. The study revealed that some brain lesions can actually make a patient even “more himself”. When semantic dementia affects a patient’s dominant anterior temporal lobe (usually the left one in a right-handed subject), he is likely to experience a heightening of the philosophical, spiritual, or religious attitudes he experienced in his former life. His behaviour remains consistent with his pre-morbid identity. (For instance, he may be even more committed to attending church.) However, if the non-dominant frontal lobe (the right one in most people) is affected, there can be diminishment, even reversal, of the patient’s previous core values and self-concept. A normal, intact non-dominant frontal lobe, the study’s authors suggest, ensures the maintenance of the self—from political and religious affiliation to career choice.
Some of the conditions Montague explores in her book quite naturally raise questions about identity. However, a number of them do not. It’s a bit of a stretch to examine sleep disorders (including sleep walking and nighttime out-of-body experiences) through the lens of identity. Comas, vegetative, and minimally conscious states also seem to have less to do with identity per se than with the matter of consciousness. A section on multiple personality disorder, which focuses almost exclusively on criminals’ opportunistic use of the diagnosis to get away with having committed murder, really has no place in a book that purports to deal with “who we become when we are no longer ourselves”. All this is to say that Montague frequently strays from her stated purpose. Her book often reads more like a ragbag of interesting neurological tidbits than a serious consideration of how diseases that strike the brain alter self-concept and others’ perception of who the patient is (or who he has become). The title is misleading. The selves of many of the patients Montague reports on are lost and never found again. Patients move further and further away from the people they were thought to be.
As interesting as I found some of the material, I was frustrated by the poor quality of the writing in the book. There are several pages on which grammatically correct sentences are outnumbered by sloppy fragments. Rules regarding punctuation are regularly ignored. Clarity is sacrificed to a loose, rambling, conversational style. Words are often used carelessly and imprecisely.
To provide an example, consider the term “Personality”—an important one in a book like this. The problem is that Montague can’t seem to use it in a clear and consistent way. In one section (without explaining what she means) she mentions that personality “shapes” us—which surprised me. I’m used to thinking about the things that shape personality: nature (genetic inheritance), nurture (environment, including parenting), and experience. A few pages later, the author changes tack: Now, “Personality” is described as “not just a bundle of traits [in a person], but the very notion of ‘who he is’.” Things then get even more muddled when Montague wonders if a “shift in personality” might change the essence of who he [a patient] is”. Hmmm. . . Didn’t she just imply that personality was a person’s essence? She said it was “the very notion of ‘who he is’”.
On another page, the author instructs the reader: “Plot the essence of you over time—do you see yourself disrupted and dissociated from one day to the next, or instead a character perpetually continuous and connected?” (“The essence of you”? . . . sounds like a perfume. How do you “plot” it? And what about the phrase ”perpetually continuous and connected”? What’s that about? If Montague is asking the reader whether he perceives his “self” or identity to be fairly consistent over time, why doesn’t she just say so?) Where was the editor? How could this kind of writing have passed muster?
Montague’s book had the potential to be a fine one, but it needed to be rigorously edited and revised. I did pick up new information, but that learning demanded more work and annoyance than it should have.
As the subtitle of her book suggests, consultant neurologist Jules Montague is interested in “memory, identity and who we become when we’re no longer ourselves”. She states up front that the concept of “identity” encompasses not just how we see ourselves but also how others see us. “Self”, on the other hand, “refers primarily to the experience of the individual, (a sense of one’s own being).”
Montague proceeds to look at a number of neurological (and some psychiatric) disorders, among them: Alzheimer’s Disease; Korsakoff syndrome (a chronic memory disorder caused by severe Vitamin B-1 deficiency, most commonly seen in longtime abusers of alcohol); dissociative amnesia/fugue states (in which patients’ autobiographical information is out of reach, often as the result of traumatic events); frontotemporal dementia (which has an earlier onset and a more significant inherited component than Alzheimer’s and is initially characterized not by memory loss but by dramatic, inappropriate behavioural change—think: kissing complete strangers or urinating in public); multiple personality disorder, now known as dissociative identity disorder; Parkinson’s Disease; and ALS.
The author doesn’t entirely restrict her discussion to those with brain disease. She also considers the unreliability of memory in neurologically normal people. Memories are not stable in any of us, Montague reminds the reader. A memory is rebuilt each time it is accessed, with new details added each time—based on what a person has experienced and learned since last calling up the memory. False memories can be implanted in anyone, and a person doesn’t have to be cognitively impaired to embellish, distort, or transpose details that are recollected.
In reading Montague’s book—a synthesis of philosophical, psychological, and neurological material—I was reminded of things I already knew about the way in which memory does and doesn’t work. I was also glad to encounter some new information. A few times, Montague makes pertinent observations about identity in patients with disordered brains, but sometimes the matter of identity takes a back seat to other details about the conditions. The author does note that family members are most likely to perceive a neurologically impaired loved one as essentially himself if his core moral faculties are preserved—that is, if he still shows empathy, gratitude, a sense of fairness, and a willingness to cooperate, etc. (The loss of other mental faculties does not seem to matter as much for a patient to continue to be seen as himself.) Montague also refers to interesting research on patients with semantic dementia, a kind of frontotemporal dementia which causes the loss of language abilities. The study revealed that some brain lesions can actually make a patient even “more himself”. When semantic dementia affects a patient’s dominant anterior temporal lobe (usually the left one in a right-handed subject), he is likely to experience a heightening of the philosophical, spiritual, or religious attitudes he experienced in his former life. His behaviour remains consistent with his pre-morbid identity. (For instance, he may be even more committed to attending church.) However, if the non-dominant frontal lobe (the right one in most people) is affected, there can be diminishment, even reversal, of the patient’s previous core values and self-concept. A normal, intact non-dominant frontal lobe, the study’s authors suggest, ensures the maintenance of the self—from political and religious affiliation to career choice.
Some of the conditions Montague explores in her book quite naturally raise questions about identity. However, a number of them do not. It’s a bit of a stretch to examine sleep disorders (including sleep walking and nighttime out-of-body experiences) through the lens of identity. Comas, vegetative, and minimally conscious states also seem to have less to do with identity per se than with the matter of consciousness. A section on multiple personality disorder, which focuses almost exclusively on criminals’ opportunistic use of the diagnosis to get away with having committed murder, really has no place in a book that purports to deal with “who we become when we are no longer ourselves”. All this is to say that Montague frequently strays from her stated purpose. Her book often reads more like a ragbag of interesting neurological tidbits than a serious consideration of how diseases that strike the brain alter self-concept and others’ perception of who the patient is (or who he has become). The title is misleading. The selves of many of the patients Montague reports on are lost and never found again. Patients move further and further away from the people they were thought to be.
As interesting as I found some of the material, I was frustrated by the poor quality of the writing in the book. There are several pages on which grammatically correct sentences are outnumbered by sloppy fragments. Rules regarding punctuation are regularly ignored. Clarity is sacrificed to a loose, rambling, conversational style. Words are often used carelessly and imprecisely.
To provide an example, consider the term “Personality”—an important one in a book like this. The problem is that Montague can’t seem to use it in a clear and consistent way. In one section (without explaining what she means) she mentions that personality “shapes” us—which surprised me. I’m used to thinking about the things that shape personality: nature (genetic inheritance), nurture (environment, including parenting), and experience. A few pages later, the author changes tack: Now, “Personality” is described as “not just a bundle of traits [in a person], but the very notion of ‘who he is’.” Things then get even more muddled when Montague wonders if a “shift in personality” might change the essence of who he [a patient] is”. Hmmm. . . Didn’t she just imply that personality was a person’s essence? She said it was “the very notion of ‘who he is’”.
On another page, the author instructs the reader: “Plot the essence of you over time—do you see yourself disrupted and dissociated from one day to the next, or instead a character perpetually continuous and connected?” (“The essence of you”? . . . sounds like a perfume. How do you “plot” it? And what about the phrase ”perpetually continuous and connected”? What’s that about? If Montague is asking the reader whether he perceives his “self” or identity to be fairly consistent over time, why doesn’t she just say so?) Where was the editor? How could this kind of writing have passed muster?
Montague’s book had the potential to be a fine one, but it needed to be rigorously edited and revised. I did pick up new information, but that learning demanded more work and annoyance than it should have.
March 5, 2018
In brief - very interesting book with some fascinating case studies and ideas. Might be a little too "academic" for a casual reader.
Dr Jules Montague is a neurologist who spends her days helping people who are experiencing dementia and other brain disorders. Lost and Found explores aspects of personality and identity when something goes wrong in the brain. It is a wide ranging book. While it looks at neurology primarily it also brings in aspects of other disciplines and subjects. The main chapter headings are Memory, Personality and Consciousness. However each chapter has sub headings within them. These open with a case study introduction before exploring the topic more generally.
The opening section of the book was quite hard hitting and set the tone for the book well. A lady with a brain tumour tells her children she loves them; she didn't do that before the tumour. Dr Montague is asked if it is their mother or the brain tumour talking. In part this case was the inspiration for the book as a whole. When is someone not the someone we knew and why?
In all sections of this book I found things that fascinated me and made me think. Having studied psychology some years ago the thoughts I had tended to be related to that subject. As such, when the author looks at the idea that, despite the fact you cannot remember what you did as a four year old at the age of 60, it does not mean you are not the same person I can appreciate the idea. Whether you come at this book from a neurological perspective or a psychological one there are commonalities.
For me the fact that this book can interest those with multidisciplinary perspectives is a real attraction. For example the author looks at light bulb memories and false memories - this will interest people with various perspectives. Similarly the idea that when we remember we are actually remembering the last time we remembered something is a concept that resonates across disciplines.
Extracting a selection of the notes I made when reading this I find the following
• "Tip of the tongue" problems
• Fugue and amnesia
• Dopamine, Parkisons and creativity (fascinating)
• Dreams and reality
• Identity when on life support or in a persistent vegetative state
It is clear that this book can be seen as very wide ranging indeed. I noted literature, philosophy and history as well as psychology and neurology in among the issues and text.
At the end of the book there is a very good concluding section which serves to tie up what has been covered in the book. There are extensive notes and a very decent index as one would expect from such a book.
When I requested a copy of this book I was a little unsure who it was really aimed at. Was it simply a collection of stories and case studies linked by themes or something deeper? For me it is that "something deeper" and is probably really an academic text. That is not to say that others will not want to read it however parts of it do require some understanding. Personally I thoroughly enjoyed reading this and parts I found very compelling reading. The other side of that is that some parts felt as though they were overlong or in need of a little judicious editing. However I am a "person in the street" reader for this subject area so that is not surprising. I'm happy to recommend this to anyone who has an interest in the subjects covered here.
Note - I received an advance digital copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair review
http://viewson.org.uk/non-fiction/los...
Dr Jules Montague is a neurologist who spends her days helping people who are experiencing dementia and other brain disorders. Lost and Found explores aspects of personality and identity when something goes wrong in the brain. It is a wide ranging book. While it looks at neurology primarily it also brings in aspects of other disciplines and subjects. The main chapter headings are Memory, Personality and Consciousness. However each chapter has sub headings within them. These open with a case study introduction before exploring the topic more generally.
The opening section of the book was quite hard hitting and set the tone for the book well. A lady with a brain tumour tells her children she loves them; she didn't do that before the tumour. Dr Montague is asked if it is their mother or the brain tumour talking. In part this case was the inspiration for the book as a whole. When is someone not the someone we knew and why?
In all sections of this book I found things that fascinated me and made me think. Having studied psychology some years ago the thoughts I had tended to be related to that subject. As such, when the author looks at the idea that, despite the fact you cannot remember what you did as a four year old at the age of 60, it does not mean you are not the same person I can appreciate the idea. Whether you come at this book from a neurological perspective or a psychological one there are commonalities.
For me the fact that this book can interest those with multidisciplinary perspectives is a real attraction. For example the author looks at light bulb memories and false memories - this will interest people with various perspectives. Similarly the idea that when we remember we are actually remembering the last time we remembered something is a concept that resonates across disciplines.
Extracting a selection of the notes I made when reading this I find the following
• "Tip of the tongue" problems
• Fugue and amnesia
• Dopamine, Parkisons and creativity (fascinating)
• Dreams and reality
• Identity when on life support or in a persistent vegetative state
It is clear that this book can be seen as very wide ranging indeed. I noted literature, philosophy and history as well as psychology and neurology in among the issues and text.
At the end of the book there is a very good concluding section which serves to tie up what has been covered in the book. There are extensive notes and a very decent index as one would expect from such a book.
When I requested a copy of this book I was a little unsure who it was really aimed at. Was it simply a collection of stories and case studies linked by themes or something deeper? For me it is that "something deeper" and is probably really an academic text. That is not to say that others will not want to read it however parts of it do require some understanding. Personally I thoroughly enjoyed reading this and parts I found very compelling reading. The other side of that is that some parts felt as though they were overlong or in need of a little judicious editing. However I am a "person in the street" reader for this subject area so that is not surprising. I'm happy to recommend this to anyone who has an interest in the subjects covered here.
Note - I received an advance digital copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair review
http://viewson.org.uk/non-fiction/los...
June 7, 2023
1.5 stars rounded up.
This book was hard to read. I really, really wanted to like it, but I just could not. I enjoy books on neuroscience quite a lot, and I had this book in my possession for the longest time, wanting to read it. I am greatly disappointed. Let me list my reasons:
1) It was all over the place. Philosophy jumped into psychology, which jumped into bioethics, which leapt into patient care. And it was all disjointed
2) The studies mentioned were literally forced into place, as if the author was following a certain pattern. Mention your thoughts, add an anecdote or a patient experience, and add a study that backs it all up. As if that makes a good non-fiction book on medical science.
3) It droned on and on. It was repetitive. So repetitive in fact that I skipped entire paragraphs because they said the same thing.
I have too many issues with this book to list them all out. I enjoy the subject matter a lot, but I was BORED with this book. It was not engaging at all. I would give it 0 stars had it not had some wonderful insight on frontotemporal dementia and how our perception of a patient facing a neurological disorder changes when they undergo an identity change (identity erasure in some cases).
But with that said, I never want to open this book again. I have seen Dr Jules Montague's talk on Alzheimer's and it was very good. But this book was disappointing.
This book was hard to read. I really, really wanted to like it, but I just could not. I enjoy books on neuroscience quite a lot, and I had this book in my possession for the longest time, wanting to read it. I am greatly disappointed. Let me list my reasons:
1) It was all over the place. Philosophy jumped into psychology, which jumped into bioethics, which leapt into patient care. And it was all disjointed
2) The studies mentioned were literally forced into place, as if the author was following a certain pattern. Mention your thoughts, add an anecdote or a patient experience, and add a study that backs it all up. As if that makes a good non-fiction book on medical science.
3) It droned on and on. It was repetitive. So repetitive in fact that I skipped entire paragraphs because they said the same thing.
I have too many issues with this book to list them all out. I enjoy the subject matter a lot, but I was BORED with this book. It was not engaging at all. I would give it 0 stars had it not had some wonderful insight on frontotemporal dementia and how our perception of a patient facing a neurological disorder changes when they undergo an identity change (identity erasure in some cases).
But with that said, I never want to open this book again. I have seen Dr Jules Montague's talk on Alzheimer's and it was very good. But this book was disappointing.
skimmed
April 25, 2019I’m weary of books of anonymized case studies and have read a little too much about dementia to find this engaging. I gave it a quick skim. I was most interested in the information on Iris Murdoch’s Alzheimer’s.
September 29, 2019
"Cosa resta di una persona, chi diventa, quando la sua mente svanisce?"
Un altro libro che presenta casi neurologici, ma questa volta c’è anche un approccio “filosofico” alla questione: fino a che punto una persona continua a essere se stessa? La nostra identità, o quella di una persona amata, quanto resistono alla malattia? Quando una demenza prefrontale provoca un completo cambio della personalità, tanto da rendere irriconoscibile qualcuno, per modi e carattere, quello è un estraneo frutto della malattia, o è la vera natura della persona, che si esprime non più imbrigliata da regole e autocontrollo? E com’è possibile che a volte un male che da una parte toglie così tanto, dall’altra doni esplosioni di creatività e talento artistico rimaste fino a quel momento inespresse?
Quando una malattia degenerativa ci priva dei ricordi, delle memorie che ci hanno ‘costruiti’ negli anni, noi siamo ancora noi?
Chi si riprende dopo parecchi anni da un incidente che ha provocato danni cerebrali devastanti, è davvero la stessa persona di un tempo? E se a volte è possibile trovare la cura per riportare a uno stato di coscienza persone che sono ‘perse’ da anni, è davvero giusto farlo, quando significa consegnarli a una vita di profonda invalidità fisica e mentale?
Una riflessione sulla nostra umanità, sulla nostra complessità, su ciò che ci rende noi stessi agli occhi degli altri, ma anche ai nostri; può essere una lettura interessante anche per chi non si interessa per nulla alla neurologia.
Un altro libro che presenta casi neurologici, ma questa volta c’è anche un approccio “filosofico” alla questione: fino a che punto una persona continua a essere se stessa? La nostra identità, o quella di una persona amata, quanto resistono alla malattia? Quando una demenza prefrontale provoca un completo cambio della personalità, tanto da rendere irriconoscibile qualcuno, per modi e carattere, quello è un estraneo frutto della malattia, o è la vera natura della persona, che si esprime non più imbrigliata da regole e autocontrollo? E com’è possibile che a volte un male che da una parte toglie così tanto, dall’altra doni esplosioni di creatività e talento artistico rimaste fino a quel momento inespresse?
Quando una malattia degenerativa ci priva dei ricordi, delle memorie che ci hanno ‘costruiti’ negli anni, noi siamo ancora noi?
Chi si riprende dopo parecchi anni da un incidente che ha provocato danni cerebrali devastanti, è davvero la stessa persona di un tempo? E se a volte è possibile trovare la cura per riportare a uno stato di coscienza persone che sono ‘perse’ da anni, è davvero giusto farlo, quando significa consegnarli a una vita di profonda invalidità fisica e mentale?
Una riflessione sulla nostra umanità, sulla nostra complessità, su ciò che ci rende noi stessi agli occhi degli altri, ma anche ai nostri; può essere una lettura interessante anche per chi non si interessa per nulla alla neurologia.
February 23, 2018
Intriguing and very interesting. It appealed to me more at the beginning but became increasingly more academic, I felt, as it went on. The author has a great knowledge of the workings of the brain and I was absorbed by the concepts of identity, sameness, and self etc. in relation to what happens to us and where we go when our memories are lost. Also the issues of whether changes that occur are latent characteristics coming to the fore or newly formed characteristics resulting from changes in brain function. Some amazing case studies which help to maintain interest in the book but it tended to become more of a text book as it went on and perhaps a little more challenging for the average reader to readily digest. I am glad I read the book (a 'giveaway for which I am very grateful) and I have gained a great insight into the workings of the brain and what happens when those workings become changed/damaged.
May 18, 2019
A really thought-stimulating read! Dr. Montague has managed to infuse detailed and professional experiences in her intriguing patient cases. I have often been interested in neurology and all the contemplations on consciousness, memory, identity, free will, the formation of ideas etc. are just amazing to read about.
In particular, the following quote has left a strong impression in my mind.
As a medical student, this couldn't be more true. I am only in my preclinical years and so I could hardly meet an actual patient. Nevertheless, all we talk about and learn are the chemistry and biology and cells and tissues and basically science in medicine. Medical school is not a place for philosophical contemplation.
But medicine is known to be both an art and science. And from where could we learn the humanity in medicine? Maybe from books like this, or maybe from our future experiences with patients. I don't know for now since I am still at the beginning stage, but I really do hope that medical learning would be speaking more to a person than to a patient.
In particular, the following quote has left a strong impression in my mind.
“In the two decades since starting at medical school, I have never heard the word 'identity' spoken. Grand rounds, the very heartbeat of medical learning, are not a place for philosophical musings or profound emotional questions. Diagnostic labels gathered there speak more to the patient and less to the person. We talk about loss of blood and loss of lung function but we do not contemplate the loss of person and the loss of self.”
As a medical student, this couldn't be more true. I am only in my preclinical years and so I could hardly meet an actual patient. Nevertheless, all we talk about and learn are the chemistry and biology and cells and tissues and basically science in medicine. Medical school is not a place for philosophical contemplation.
But medicine is known to be both an art and science. And from where could we learn the humanity in medicine? Maybe from books like this, or maybe from our future experiences with patients. I don't know for now since I am still at the beginning stage, but I really do hope that medical learning would be speaking more to a person than to a patient.
January 19, 2018
(I won a proof copy book through the Goodreads Giveaway competitions).
I had really high expectations for this book. After reading books like "Do No Harm", I was looking forward to a well written interesting book on memory and identity. This book isn't quite that. Some of the stories Jules talks about are really captivating and brings up points that really make you question identity and memory. But sometimes, these stories contradict what she has already suggested, or run on over several chapters with other stories in between that it can be hard to keep up.
She has obviously done a lot of research and draws on her own experiences, which I find quite refreshing as I have read other similar books which really haven't done this and is just pure guess work. She made me question some of my previous ideas on memory and identity and made some good counter points. However, there were parts of the books that weren't interesting and realised I that I had actually read bits without taking it in. Re-reading these parts I thought that I didn't really miss anything.
Overall, I like the way the book is structured and how Jules draws on personal experience. But it doesn't always flow well and contradicts itself at points.
I had really high expectations for this book. After reading books like "Do No Harm", I was looking forward to a well written interesting book on memory and identity. This book isn't quite that. Some of the stories Jules talks about are really captivating and brings up points that really make you question identity and memory. But sometimes, these stories contradict what she has already suggested, or run on over several chapters with other stories in between that it can be hard to keep up.
She has obviously done a lot of research and draws on her own experiences, which I find quite refreshing as I have read other similar books which really haven't done this and is just pure guess work. She made me question some of my previous ideas on memory and identity and made some good counter points. However, there were parts of the books that weren't interesting and realised I that I had actually read bits without taking it in. Re-reading these parts I thought that I didn't really miss anything.
Overall, I like the way the book is structured and how Jules draws on personal experience. But it doesn't always flow well and contradicts itself at points.
September 12, 2018
Such an engaging read and a well constructed combination of science backed with evidence, balanced beside stories of real people with memories lost. The question of “do we lose ourselves when our memories and brain changes “ is approached through the stories told of patients and we are challenged to form a response.
I loved the writing style. The witty short lines interjected between academic sentences . Made me smile and brought humanity and humour to the reading .
I loved the writing style. The witty short lines interjected between academic sentences . Made me smile and brought humanity and humour to the reading .
January 29, 2020
A book about personality and consciousness, agency and continuity. What can happen to the mind to make us not like the person we were. When it does, who are we?
I found this a very interesting book. It takes a number of case studies I have heard of before and a number of quite new ones and builds a picture of how we understand individual identity. There was a lot of very thought provoking material presented in a compelling style.
I found this a very interesting book. It takes a number of case studies I have heard of before and a number of quite new ones and builds a picture of how we understand individual identity. There was a lot of very thought provoking material presented in a compelling style.
February 11, 2025
My aunt recommended this book to me and bought me a copy years before I went to medical school, years before my own family members suffered from dementia and the practical implications of the situation were no longer theoretical - whether in wards or in real life.
A good introductory find, definitely got me interested in the field. And though others may dislike how it jumped around, I found it fascinating. Following the patterns of thought rather than chapter by chapter theory.
A good introductory find, definitely got me interested in the field. And though others may dislike how it jumped around, I found it fascinating. Following the patterns of thought rather than chapter by chapter theory.
March 19, 2018
What a beautifully moving read! Fairly easy to understand even though it's a profoundly complex area of medicine. I love how Dr. Montague weaved in her experience with her patient case studies. I felt I knew I knew the patients and felt deeply for them and their families.
Dr Montague's writing is full of humanity and hope..something this world needs a bit more of now.
Dr Montague's writing is full of humanity and hope..something this world needs a bit more of now.
June 20, 2019
A highly interesting book, but sadly, I think it doesn't completely fulfill its promise of showing how you are you even after you no longer have memories. I could have done with more elaboration and I could have easily seen this as a 600 pages long book. I am definitely going to read more from this author, the comparisons with Oliver Sacks are spot on! :)
March 5, 2019
For an information book this really does come from the heart and gets to your heart! This explains the effects that a variety of things has on your brain. Particularly Dementia and the part you lose that we can all see. A very well written book by a excellent doctor.
March 19, 2018
Very well written, interesting and easy to understand
November 15, 2018
A great peak into the mind and its complexities. Not your average read but totally fascinating!
December 7, 2018
3.5 or maybe 4... terrific case studies. Review to come.
March 21, 2021
Thought provoking. The human mind is vast and uncontained.
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