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My Lobotomy | 
 enlarge | Authors: Howard Dully, Charles Fleming
Publisher: Three Rivers Press
Category: Book
List Price: $13.95
Buy New: $11.16
You Save: $2.79 (20%)
Avg. Customer Rating:  15 reviews
Sales Rank: 75353
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 304
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 5.2 x 0.7
ISBN: 0307381277
Dewey Decimal Number: 920
EAN: 9780307381279
ASIN: 0307381277
Publication Date: August 26, 2008 (In 5 Days)
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Not yet published
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Product Description
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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| Customer Reviews: Read 10 more reviews...
 Emotional Read July 2, 2008
I loved this book! I just cannot fathom that a young boy went through all of this. I am so happy Mr. Dully has a good life now.
I found this book fascinating in many ways. Just the fact that a "doctor" could even think of doing an ice pick lobotomy baffles me!
Go on Howard's journey through life to find out the answers on 'why' this happened. The reasons will shock you.
I loved this book so much I have written a more in depth article review on this fascinating book on another site.
Thank you Howard for sharing your story.
Thank You Howard Dully for sharing your story March 5, 2008
This book was very well put together. I'm glad he shared his painful story and I'm thankful he was able to help other people by doing this.
Read it! February 1, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Howard Dully is an incredible, brave man who has endured the unendurable. This memoir is well-worth reading. Not only do we get a closer look at the life of a lobotomy survivor, but we also get to see a close-up of the monster himself - Walter Freeman. This look at Freeman reminds us that evil is often banal.
Howard's earnest desire to forgive his father, to bond with him, even after all the abuse Howard endured, is truly amazing.
Someone make a film of this story!
- Christine Hamilton Johnson
 A little choppy in the middle, but worth reading the whole way through January 10, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I am a big fan of reading memoirs and just the title alone on this book had me intrigued. This is a painful, yet beautiful story about a 12 yr old boy who just needed more affection and love in his life. Instead, he was given a lobotomy. The story tells about what happened after the lobotomy and how in his 40's he went searching for answers and in the end finally finds peace.
I almost didn't finish the book, as I felt some chapters were a bit choppy and yet other pieces of the story were unnecessarily long. I'm glad that I stuck with it, because the end of this story makes it worth the read.
One more example of psychiatry's insanity January 3, 2008
6 out of 8 found this review helpful
Mostly because his stepmother didn't like him, Howard Dully received a lobotomy from Walter Freeman at the age of 12. Like many people, I was distressed and outraged as I read this story. It is an honest and fascinating memoir of a man who overcame the trauma of a devastating childhood and who searched relentlessly to ultimately understand his life.
What strikes me is that Howard is the one who had the lobotomy, yet his parents and psychiatrist are the ones who seem devoid of any human feeling. As I read the story I more than once wished a lobotomy on all three of them.
Today, I have read, lobotomies are "rare". Yet, with anti-psychotic medication, psycho-stimulants and electroshock, bio-psychiatrists who insist that mental illness is caused by a "chemical imbalance" are still damaging the brains and souls of children in dysfunctional families.
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