My Lobotomy

Written by: Howard Dully and Charles Fleming

First line: This much I know for sure: I was born in Peralta Hospital in Oakland, California, on November 30, 1948.

Why you should read this book: For whatever reason, Howard Dully's stepmother never much liked him, and even though most of the doctors she consulted thought the problem was hers, not his, she kept searching for a final solution, until Dr. Walter Freeman suggested there was simply nothing like a nice, definitive lobotomy to permanently calm down a twelve-year-old boy. While his stepmother never allowed him back into the house, what followed for Howard was decades of a foggy, confusing, and seemingly perpetual childhood, until the day he awakened to himself and decided it was time to become an adult. This surprising memoir chronicles his journal from juvenile delinquent to inspirational public speaker, as he struggles to make his way in the world and try to understand what happened to him that day in the hospital, and how anyone could have ever made such permanent decisions regarding a young child.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You're looking for a good way to get your stepkids out of the house.