Oliver Sacks

Oliver Sacks was a famous doctor and a very talented writer.

He was a neurologist, which is a doctor who studies the brain and nerves. He was born in London, England, in 1933. His parents were both in the medical field. His father was a doctor from Lithuania. His mother was one of the first female surgeons in England.

Sacks grew up with a large family of scientists and doctors. As a young boy, he loved chemistry and spent time studying it. He even went to a boarding school during the war years. This was a hard time for him. He later wrote about these early years in his book, Uncle Tungsten.

Sacks went to study medicine at Oxford University.

He spent many years learning about biology and physiology. One time, he did research on a drug called Jamaica ginger. This drug was dangerous because it could hurt people's nerves. The research was difficult and made him feel very sad for a while. To feel better, he spent a summer working on a kibbutz in Israel. This was a farm where people do hard physical work. The fresh air and movement helped him feel happy again. He decided he wanted to return to medicine and help patients.

After finishing his medical degree in 1958, Sacks moved to North America.

He first flew to Montreal, Canada, on his 27th birthday. He tried to become a pilot, but people suggested medical research instead. He spent some time traveling through the Canadian Rockies. Later, he moved to the United States. He worked at Mount Zion Hospital in San Francisco. He also studied at UCLA in Los Angeles. He lived in many different places, but he spent most of his career in New York City. He called himself a "resident alien" because he lived in the U.S. but never became a citizen.

Sacks became a very important doctor in New York. He worked at Beth Abraham Hospital for many years. There, he helped people who had survived a sickness called encephalitis lethargica. This sickness made it hard for people to move their bodies. He wrote a famous book called Awakenings about these patients. This book was even turned into a movie in 1990. He also taught at many schools, like the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He was a professor of neurology and psychiatry. He even became the first "Columbia University Artist." This title showed how he used art to help explain science.

Sacks wrote many books that people all over the world read.

His books were translated into more than 25 different languages. One of his most famous books is The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat. This book tells true stories about how different brains work. He also wrote about nature and the history of science. People loved his writing because it was very beautiful. Some people even called him a "poet laureate of contemporary medicine." His work helped people see the link between science and the arts. He even helped support music therapy to help the human mind.