Well-known British neuroscientist Oliver Sacks dies at 82
Oliver Sacks, the prominent neurologist and writer, has passed away due to liver cancer that put an end to lifelong dedication to what he called the exploration of “the furthest Arctics and Tropics” of the human psyche.
The renowned scholar, acclaimed by many as the “poet laureate of medicine,” died at the age of 82 at his home in New York City on Sunday.
"He died surrounded by the things he loved and the people he loved, very peacefully, after an illness he had known about since January this year. He taught us a great deal, right up until the very end,” said his publicist Jacqui Graham, adding, "He always taught us what it was to be human, and he taught us what it is to die."
Several celebrities and activists, including British novelist J. K. Rowling, American author Joyce Carol Oates, and American actress Olivia Wilde, have so far extended their condolences over Sacks’ death, hailing him as a unique, inspirational character.
The London-born figure was renowned for introducing such syndromes as Tourette’s or Asperger’s to the general public through his “neurological novels.” By presenting case histories and clinical tales in his works, Sacks managed to provide a groundbreaking representation of people with neurological disorders. He demystified and humanized his patients by depicting the vicissitudes of their daily lives and also their long-ignored distinctive talents.
Upon learning about his terminal cancer, Sacks published an article in New York Times in February, further revealing his spirited, vivacious and phenomenal attitude toward life.
“I have been able to see my life as from a great altitude, as a sort of landscape, and with a deepening sense of the connection of all its parts. This does not mean I am finished with life… On the contrary, I feel intensely alive,” he noted.
“There will be no one like us when we are gone, but then there is no one like anyone else, ever. … I feel the future is in good hands,” he optimistically stated, adding that he has always enjoyed life as “a sentient being, a thinking animal, on this beautiful planet, and that in itself has been an enormous privilege and adventure.”
Among Sacks’ major works are Awakenings (1973), The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat (1985) and Seeing Voices: A Journey into the World of the Deaf (1989).
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