At twelve, Howard Dully was guilty of the same crimes as other boys
his age: he was moody and messy, rambunctious with his brothers,
contrary just to prove a point, and perpetually at odds with his
parents. Yet somehow, this normal boy became one of the youngest
people on whom Dr. Walter Freeman performed his barbaric
transorbital--or ice pick--lobotomy.
Abandoned by his family within a year of the surgery, Howard spent
his teen years in mental institutions, his twenties in jail, and
his thirties in a bottle. It wasn't until he was in his forties
that Howard began to pull his life together. But even as he began
to live the "normal" life he had been denied, Howard struggled with
one question: Why?
"October 8, 1960. I gather that Mrs. Dully is perpetually talking,
admonishing, correcting, and getting worked up into a spasm,
whereas her husband is impatient, explosive, rather brutal, won't
let the boy speak for himself, and calls him numbskull, dimwit, and
other uncomplimentary names."
There were only three people who would know the truth: Freeman, the
man who performed the procedure; Lou, his cold and demanding
stepmother who brought Howard to the doctor's attention; and his
father, Rodney. Of the three, only Rodney, the man who hadn't
intervened on his son's behalf, was still living. Time was running
out. Stable and happy for the first time in decades, Howard began
to search for answers.
"December 3, 1960. Mr. and Mrs. Dully have apparently decided to
have Howard operated on. I suggested they] not tell Howard anything
about it."
Through his research, Howard met other lobotomy patients and their
families, talked with one of Freeman's sons about his father's
controversial life's work, and confronted Rodney about his
complicity. And, in the archive where the doctor's files are
stored, he finally came face to face with the truth.
Revealing what happened to a child no one--not his father, not the
medical community, not the state--was willing to protect, " My
Lobotomy" exposes a shameful chapter in the history of the
treatment of mental illness. Yet, ultimately, this is a powerful
and moving chronicle of the life of one man. Without reticence,
Howard Dully shares the story of a painfully dysfunctional
childhood, a misspent youth, his struggle to claim the life that
was taken from him, and his redemption.
"From the Hardcover edition."
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