My Lobotomy

A Memoir

By: Howard Dully, Charles Fleming

Narrated by: Johnny Heller

Length: 9 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

A gut-wrenching memoir by a man who was lobotomized at the age of 12.

Assisted by journalist/novelist Charles Fleming, Howard Dully recounts a family tragedy whose Sophoclean proportions he could only sketch in his powerful 2005 broadcast on NPR's All Things Considered.

"In 1960," he writes, "I was given a transorbital, or 'ice pick' lobotomy. My stepmother arranged it. My father agreed to it. Dr. Walter Freeman, the father of the American lobotomy, told me he was going to do some 'tests'. It took 10 minutes and cost 200 dollars."

Fellow doctors called Freeman's technique barbaric: an ice pick¿like instrument was inserted about three inches into each eye socket and twirled to sever connections from the frontal lobe to the rest of the brain. The procedure was intended to help curb a variety of psychoses by muting emotional responses, but sometimes it irreversibly reduced patients to a childlike state or (in 15 percent of the operations Freeman performed) killed them outright. Dully's 10-minute "test" did neither, but in some ways it had a far crueler result, since it didn't end the unruly behavior that had set his stepmother against him to begin with.

"I spent the next 40 years in and out of insane asylums, jails, and halfway houses," he tells us. "I was homeless, alcoholic, and drug-addicted. I was lost."

From all accounts, there was no excuse for the lobotomy. Dully had never been "crazy", and his (not very) bad behavior sounds like the typical acting-up of a child in desperate need of affection. His stepmother responded with unrelenting abuse and neglect, and his father allowed her to demonize his son and never admitted his complicity in the lobotomy; Freeman capitalized on their monumental dysfunction. It's a tale of epic horror, and while Dully's courage in telling it inspires awe, listeners are left to speculate about what drove supposedly responsible adults to such unconscionable acts.

©2007 Howard Dully and Charles Fleming (P)2007 Tantor Media Inc.

Critic reviews

"Brutally honest....Truly stunning." ( Publishers Weekly)
"Gut wrenching....It's a tale of epic horror, and while Dully's courage in telling it inspires awe, readers are left to speculate about what drove supposedly responsible adults to such unconscionable acts. A profoundly disturbing survivor's tale." ( Kirkus)

Freaky... the Things that went on....

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

It was weird to learn what doctors got away with back then.. It is difficult to continue listening because of the extreme repetitiveness in the novel.

Captivating from beginning to end

What did you love best about My Lobotomy?

Lobotomy's were not uncommon, yet first person accounts are rare. This story follows Howard Dully from childhood to his mid 50's, the whole time capturing his feelings and awareness of what's going on around him. He's telling a story that so many other patients are physically unable to tell.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The story focuses on Howard and his father, but I love the brother, who knew something was amiss, but never realized fully what it was.

What does Johnny Heller bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Portability

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The description of the interview at the end of the book. It was enough to make me download the actual interview so I could hear it first hand.

Equal parts heartbreaking and inspiring

I finished this book in 2 days, but could have easily done so in one. I've been interested in true stories lately and came across this while searching for survival stories.

It's a great autobiography, and you really can feel for him and what he went through. He never excused his bad decisions, but explained well what was going through his mind so you could understand his choices. And when you remember that parts of his brain were destroyed, the fact he was able to turn out the way he did is so incredible. It really brings home the point that just because someone has done bad things, it doesn't mean they are a bad person.

You really get a feel for what an amazing person this man is. The book is a testament to his capacity to forgive and continuing to be such a loving and understanding person despite the horrible child abuse he was subject to.

I could not reccomend this book more.

Fantastic

This is a riveting story. Every parent, educator and child advocate should hear it to increase understanding and knowledge of children and parents. Thank you Howard Dully for sharing your story.

Heartbreaking but incredible

This jaw-dropping story was real life. I finished months ago and still think about it frequently. I am grateful that someone with this many unchosen setbacks could stand so strong and change the scenery of this dark era of human science. I just wanted to hug him the whole time. ♥️

Slow..

Fascinating in content, but the book ran a little slow to me. It seemed to repeat the same facts over and over again. I enjoyed the actual NPR program where you get to hear his actual voice and the emotion he feels. The reader seems to be void of emotion.

So So

The book was so-so. It dragged on about every little thing he did wrong.

Boring...as in, when will this be over?

Some parts of this story were alright, but mostly the author just rambles on about his life story. The thing is, there is nothing distinguishable between before the lobotomy was performed and after as far as how he thinks and acts. Two of the chapters deal with the actual lobotomy, and the rest just seem to narrate this man's story. In my honest opinion, the story of one of the people he meets later on in life would probably have been more interesting than his own. All this being said, there are many times throughout the listen where I don't even remember that the lobotomy is the reason the book has been written. I found myself looking at my device hoping it was almost over and being disappointed again and again. Two stars for the parts of the story that were entertaining, even though those were the parts of the story where I lost track of the fact that the lobotomy was supposedly the reason for where he was and what he was doing.