Status Updates From Awakenings / A Leg to Stand...

Finished Awakenings, and will now be taking some time to read some fiction (thankfully).

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In Awakenings, Dr. Sacks takes a cross sectional approach towards neurology, Sacks pulling from the realms of classic literature, philosophy, and physics, to craft a comprehensive portrait of Parkinsonism and the usage of LDOPA. The book was dense and full of technical language, which made the read challenging.

Two or three more sittings and I vanquish Awakenings and finally have fiction back into my life.

Awakenings is a big fucking bummer of a book. So far. Each patient follows a similar fate of catatonia, a great improvement due to the introduction of L-DOPA, followed by a steady, if not terrible decline. Some have walked away okay, but a diagnosis of Parkinsonism was a mortal one.

The verbage here is no joke man. Reading feels like trying to ford a river of quick sand. Thankfully, I've finally landed in the clinical studies section of Awakenings, which is a lot more approachable than Dr. Sacks' musings on history or whatever.

With a newly found determination, I'm starting this collection again because it's been too long since I opened it.

Awakenings is first, and Ive almost forgotten how dense the text is. It took me like half an hour to get through the foreword and preface. And I'm still on page 4? Wtf?

I will update this each time I finish one of the volumes in this collection

Awakenings- A really interesting read about a rare illness and it's sequels. While the cases are interesting, they tend to get a bit repetitive. Where Sacks really shines is in the final three chapters (Awakenings, Tribulations, Accomodation) and his descriptions of human disease and suffering.

A Leg to Stand On-