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A Leg to Stand On cover art

A Leg to Stand On

Written by: Oliver Sacks
Narrated by: Jonathan Davis, Oliver Sacks - introduction
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Publisher's Summary

Dr. Oliver Sacks' books Awakenings, An Anthropologist on Mars, and the best-selling The Man Who Mistook His Wife For a Hat have been acclaimed for their extraordinary compassion in the treatment of patients affected with profound disorders. In A Leg to Stand On, it is Sacks himself who is the patient: an encounter with a bull on a desolate mountain in Norway has left him with a severely damaged leg. But what should be a routine recuperation is actually the beginning of a strange medical journey when he finds that his leg uncannily no longer feels like part of his body.

Sacks's brilliant description of his crisis and eventual recovery is not only an illuminating examination of the experience of patienthood and the inner nature of illness and health but also a fascinating exploration of the physical basis of identity.

PLEASE NOTE: Some changes have been made to the original manuscript with the permission of Oliver Sacks.

©1984, 1993 Oliver Sacks (P)2011 Audible, Inc.

What the critics say

"A neurologist in [the] great tradition... [this is] a narrative comparable to Conrad's The Secret Sharer." (The New York Review of Books)
"In calling for a neurology of the soul and a deeper and more humane medicine, Sacks's remarkable book raises issues of profound importance for everyone interested in humane health care and the human application of science." (The Washington Post Book World)

What listeners say about A Leg to Stand On

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