Case studies · Dopa · Therapeutic use
Awakenings by Oliver Sacks — Summary, Key Ideas & Quotes
1973409 pages✦ 3-min Big ideas★ 4.4 (5)
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What is Awakenings about?
This is the extraordinary account of a group of 20 patients, survivors of the great sleeping-sickness epidemic which swept the world in the 1920s, and the astonishing, explosive "awakening" effect they experienced 40 years later through a new drug L-DOPA administered by Dr Sacks. The stories he tells of these remarkable individuals are moving, often courageous and sometimes tragic. Through them he also explores the most general questions of health, disease, suffering, care and the human condition.
A glimpse inside
The Human Face of Neurology
Sacks transforms clinical neurology into a deeply human narrative, showing that patients are not just cases but individuals with rich inner lives. By sharing detailed stories of his patients, he challenges the medical tendency to reduce people to diagnoses, instead advocating for empathy and understanding in both medicine and society.
The Enigma of Encephalitis Lethargica
The book centers on survivors of the mysterious 'sleeping sickness' epidemic of the 1920s, who spent decades in a frozen, almost catatonic state. Sacks explores the medical mystery of this disease, its devastating impact, and the ways it forced both patients and caregivers to confront the limits of medical knowledge and the unpredictability of the brain.
Ratings at a glance
Open Library
★ 4.4 / 5
5 ratings
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Get smart in 3 min
6 key ideas, distilled
- 1The Human Face of Neurology
- 2The Enigma of Encephalitis Lethargica
- 3L-DOPA: Miracle and Mirage
- 4Identity, Time, and the Self
- 5The Limits and Responsibilities of Medicine
Popular quotes from Awakenings
“To live on a day-to-day basis is insufficient for human beings; we need to transcend, transport, escape; we need meaning, understanding, and explanation; we need to see overall patterns in our lives.”
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Frequently asked
This is the extraordinary account of a group of 20 patients, survivors of the great sleeping-sickness epidemic which swept the world in the 1920s, and the astonishing, explosive "awakening" effect they experienced 40 years later through a new drug L-DOPA administered by Dr Sacks. The stories he tells of these remarkable individuals are moving, often courageous and sometimes tragic. Through them he