The book like the movie?

Sorry about the late response.
I do have he book and I read some of it, but I quit because it' too hard to read for someone who doesn't know anything about medicine. The book is not really a story, but more just the facts of what Sacks experienced/diagnosed.

I have to admit, I did not completely read the book, so I don't know what happens later in the book.
But overall, the book doesn't come close to the movie.

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Memories weren't meant to be movies
www.robin-williams.net

When I first saw the movie, I had already read another book by Dr. Sachs. I remembered "Awakenings" listed on the jacket, but didn't put the two together until the ending credits were rolling. So with the movie fresh in my mind, I delved into the book. It became like an intense, detailed set of "liner notes" for the movie.

The book does get technical, but I found the "why's" fascinating (the movie obviously couldn't cover that angle). If you find it too daunting, try starting at the end of the book: the section about "The Making of the Movie." Dr. Sachs describes meeting and working with Robin Williams and Robert DeNiro, and his role as consultant on the film. That section alone makes a great companion to the movie.

I thought the book conveyed the story's emotional impact even more deeply than the movie did. (Notice that Dr. Sachs keeps revising and re-releasing the book every few years, adding more and more notes and interpretations. 30 years later, he's STILL haunted by those patients, unable to forget their plight, still trying to discover "why." Robin Williams' performance certainly captured the doctor's compassion perfectly.)

I bought the book after seeing the film, but I found it unreadable for the most part. It was too clinical, it was not a smooth narrative whatsoever.
It could have been a wonderful book, but for some reason, he decided to write it this way.


"I'd say this cloud is Cumulo Nimbus."
"Didn't he discover America?"
"Penfold, shush."

i find the portion of the movie BEFORE L-Dopa interesting. he was reaching them...and then seems to get greedy (or impatient) and jumps in with L-Dopa.

i wonder how this one is lined out in the book.

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