Dear Oliver
An Unexpected Friendship with Oliver Sacks
by Susan R. Barry
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Pub Date Jan 30 2024 | Archive Date Jan 29 2024
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Description
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At once intimate and inspiring, in this book Susan Barry shares the heartfelt letters through which she and Oliver Sacks became friends, laying bare the meeting of two people endlessly intrigued by the world and its mysteries.
When Susan Barry first wrote to Oliver Sacks, she never expected a response, let alone the deep friendship that blossomed over ten years of letters. Now, she is sharing those letters for the first time.
It began when Sue—herself a neuroscientist—wrote to share an extraordinary development in her own medical history. Severely cross-eyed since birth, Sue had been told she would never acquire stereovision—the ability to see in 3D—and yet she did, a development at odds with decades of research. Within days, Oliver replied, “Your letter fills me with amazement and admiration.”
In a painful twist of fate, as Sue’s vision improves, Oliver’s declines. And as it becomes harder for him to see, his characteristic small type shifts to handwritten letters. Sue later recognizes this to be early signs of the cancer that ultimately ends his life.
These letters, as Oliver writes, are a joyful celebration of a “deep and stimulating friendship” that “has been a wonderful and unexpected addition to my life.”
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9781891011306 |
| PRICE | $28.00 (USD) |
| PAGES | 256 |
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
Donna B, Librarian
Susan Barry, a neuroscientist and biology professor at Mount Holyoke, had the eye condition strabismus, or crossed-eyes. She had read all of Oliver Sacks' books featuring case studies of physical and mental problems and thought that her recent accomplishment of being able to see in 3D after being told that what she did was impossible, would interest him. Thus began a correspondence between Sacks and Barry that lasted until the death of the famous author. Their letters were mutually beneficial-Sacks wrote her up as one of his cases, naming her "Stereo Sue," while encouraging Barry to write her own books. They helped each other to solve problems in their work, and showed a great talent for humor and compassion. It was a very touching way to document a friendship between two kindred spirits.
I have been a fan of Oliver Sacks for many years, and was able to meet and talk with him myself, so I was very interested in reading this book. Besides giving a new window into Sacks' life and thoughts, Barry wrote extensively about eye problems in children (crossed eyes and lazy eye) which the "experts" maintained were not correctible in later life. The author's case and many others proved them wrong which was a real revelation. However, a lot of their letters dealt with science at a level that was somewhat hard to follow and might be a problem for the average reader. I felt though, that the contents of their letters was actually not as important as the love and respect that they grew to have for one another, and everyone will be able to understand that.
