#16 My Lobotomy

My Lobotomy by Howard Dully and Charles Fleming is exactly what it sounds like. When Howard Dully was 12 years old, his stepmother took him to a doctor who lobotomized him. The book is Dully's account of his childhood. It's his attempt to decipher why his stepmother took this drastic, inhumane step. And you feel his relief, his pain, his anguish as he realizes that there was nothing wrong with him. His stepmother hated him, and that was that. It's a good study of family systems theory and step-families, especially the concept of the target child. And the thing is, even in the 50s, when psychology was not at its finest, there were still 5 doctors/psychiatrists that told Dully's stepmother the problem was with her, not with Dully. That makes me obscurely proud. See, even back then we had it right, dammit.

It's an interesting book. Puts my own stepmother problems into perspective. I would recommend it as a bargain book; I'll be selling my copy to COAS.