My Lobotomy by Howard Dully

Lobotomies are gross. Why any doctor thought that sticking a steel rod through someone's eyes and scrambling up the front of their brain was a GOOD idea disgusts me. In the heyday of the lobotomy -- the 1960s -- there was so much that doctors and scientists didn't know about the brain that the thought that a lobotomy was actually practiced scares the beejeesus out of me. But it happened.

Howard Dully got a lobotomy in 1960 at age 12. The reason? His stepmom didn't like him. I'm not joking. He didn't have a mental illness. Therapists inside the mental institutions he was placed into (so he didn't have to live at home) knew he was a normal person with no need to be there. Back then there was no where else for him to go.

What angers me the most about his story is that his dad didn't do anything to stop it. He chose to stay married to his wife rather than stick up for his son. They ended up getting divorced when she decided it was the family dog or her. Mr. Dully chose the family dog.

Howard's story was told on NPR. You can check it out here. Check out the book, too. It's an easy read and gives you a glimpse into the lobotomy and the crazy Dr. Freeman who performed the surgery.