By: Howard Dully and Charles Fleming
My Lobotomy gives a very painful glimpse into the life of a man who was given an "ice pick" lobotomy as a child at age of 12. He was assisted in his writing of this book by Charles Fleming. The book certainly begins with Mr. Dully enjoying a peaceful and happy childhood. Tragically, his mother dies just days after birthing her third son (from undiagnosed cancer). From there, life begins to unravel rapidly for the young Howard Dully. His father, already a cold and (seemingly) uncaring man remarries a woman, Lou, who has two sons of her own. Readers quickly learn that Lou is a very cruel and abusive woman who finds Howard to be an unbearable human being to deal with. The family situation continues to deteriorate after the marriage and the blending of the two families. Lou appears to despise Howard Dully and seems determined to wipe any trace of him from the family. Lou initially begins the process of contacting a psychiatrist, Dr. Walter Freeman, who is very busy with his "ice pick" brand of lobotomies. The doctor meets Lou and later, Howard, and declares him to be a fine candidate for a lobotomy. This decision is based upon his "behavioral problems" which the lobotomy is supposed to cure. At the tender age of 12, without his consent or knowledge, Howard Dully's surgery is carried out. The surgery does not cure the family problems, and Dully is bounced from foster home, to institutions to group homes to relatives' homes until he is 18. (His parents are unwilling to allow him to reside at their home.) The pain that a reader feels radiating from this boy is very strong. Apparently, it was simply too much for his parents to love and nurture him. He grows into a dysfunctional adult with substance abuse problems and no motivation or direction (and often no job or home). We learn about Dully's marriages and about the parenting of his own children in this story. The story continues to unfold and ends at the present time (Dully is now in his late fifties). When Dully decides to learn more about his lobotomy, he opens quite a can of worms. Indeed, he is Dr. Freeman's very first patient to ever request records from both pre and post operation. This search for information ultimately brings Howard Dully into a research project involving National Public Radio correspondents. Readers are given the feeling that Dully experiences great transformation in both his self-esteem as well as healing from his surgery from the series of interviews he is involved with. He also engages in several public appearances to discuss both the lobotomy and his life before and after that time. Although this book is very full of pain and suffering and deceit, we do get a glimpse of redemption, personal growth and healing for Mr. Dully and I recommend this book very highly. (Non-Fiction ) 06/30/09
