Projections

A Story of Human Emotions

By: Karl Deisseroth

Narrated by: Karl Deisseroth, Natalie Naudus, Karen Chilton

A groundbreaking tour of the human mind that illuminates the biological nature of our inner worlds and emotions, through gripping, moving—and, at times, harrowing—clinical stories

“[A] scintillating and moving analysis of the human brain and emotions.”—Nature

“Beautifully connects the inner feelings within all human beings to deep insights from modern psychiatry and neuroscience.”—Robert Lefkowitz, Nobel Laureate

Karl Deisseroth has spent his life pursuing truths about the human mind, both as a renowned clinical psychiatrist and as a researcher creating and developing the revolutionary field of optogenetics, which uses light to help decipher the brain’s workings. In Projections, he combines his knowledge of the brain’s inner circuitry with a deep empathy for his patients to examine what mental illness reveals about the human mind and the origin of human feelings—how the broken can illuminate the unbroken.

Through cutting-edge research and gripping case studies from Deisseroth’s own patients, Projections tells a larger story about the material origins of human emotion, bridging the gap between the ancient circuits of our brain and the poignant moments of suffering in our daily lives. The stories of Deisseroth’s patients are rich with humanity and shine an unprecedented light on the self—and the ways in which it can break down. A young woman with an eating disorder reveals how the mind can rebel against the brain’s most primitive drives of hunger and thirst; an older man, smothered into silence by depression and dementia, shows how humans evolved to feel not only joy but also its absence; and a lonely Uighur woman far from her homeland teaches both the importance—and challenges—of deep social bonds.

Illuminating, literary, and essential, Projections is a revelatory, immensely powerful work. It transforms our understanding not only of the brain but of ourselves as social beings—giving vivid illustrations through science and resonant human stories of our yearning for connection and meaning.

Intriguing content AND high quality delivery

I love it when authors narrate their own work, because I want to hear it in *their* voice. Deisseroth does have lower variation of pitch and is not that vocally animated, but I expected that going in because I've heard him on podcasts. His pace and enunciation are very clear and his descriptions are a good balance of technical and ELI5, so I'm not sure why other reviewers are complaining. I'm not a neuroscience student, just *very* interested in the subject matter. I had NO issues staying engaged the whole book.
Deisseroth also uses other narrators for portions of the book to convey the perspectives of certain patients and it's actually pretty enhancing. It enables the reader / listener to better empathize with mental conditions we may have little exposure to. This brings a humanity to the concepts and challenging questions. I don't follow the poetry bits but I appreciate why he included them.

Juxtaposition of poetry and science

I enjoyed the narration, though I can see why some complain. His voice is very calming but at times can be choppy and doesn’t take well to increased listening speed. There is an appealing element to his writing that I don’t often see in scientific writing, an interesting juxtaposition of poetic and analytic. This book is not all psychiatric case stories nor all basic science lecture. I enjoyed the book for introducing his scientific ideas and his research and also enjoyed his metaphors and symbolism.

Brilliant

Karl's stories are insightful and beautifully told. This book is both a literary marvel and a scientific masterpiece.

One of the best books I’ve listened to

Artfully written and performed with heart. This was a joy of a journey, through and through.

Incredible Book Ruined by Narrator

The material is meaningful, groundbreaking and life changing. Narrator completely ruins it to the point of almost not being able to listen to the whole thing.