My Lobotomy

A Memoir

By: Howard Dully, Charles Fleming

Narrated by: Johnny Heller

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)

YOU matter.

I appreciated that Howard read his personal story. You can't help but make that connection with the author. It's an amazing story and could have easily been one of my relatives had they met Dr. Freeman. This relative wasn't all that far away from him physically when he practiced in Cali.
Thank you for sharing your story with all of us. It does matter. YOU matter.

Know your history on the medical field

This was an incredible story. I myself was injured by a vaccine and left for dead. Howard was injured by a procedure and left for dead. Know your history, doctors make mistakes, they are just regular people like us.

Incredible

This book will open your eyes to a very hurt and broken little boy who saw and navigated the world a little differently and just wanted to be loved and paid attention to. And it will absolutely blow your mind to the level of pain, neglect, abandonment and abuse that 1 person can experience and still come out on the other side a good and decent person. Howard Dully you are loved.

Child Abuse at the Higest Level

Where does My Lobotomy rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It is in the top 20.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Howard Dully, because he is the author and he was subjected to horrid treatment by his step-mother. In addition, his imbecile of a father remained indifferent to Howard's inhumane treatment and condition,

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

I enjoy listening to audio books, a good narrator can bring the story to life.

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

It was poignant when Howard was dumped in the hospital and had to face his barbaric ordeal all alone.

Any additional comments?

Howard's step-mother made Cinderella step-mother look like Mother Theresa. In addition, Cinderella was a fairy tale, this story was real life.

An incredibly powerful and emotional, true story

I would recommend this book to not just those interested in the story of the infamous labotomy, but anyone who feels like they are being held back in life because they are victim of a bad past.