Charles Fleming – författare

In this heartfelt memoir from one of the youngest recipients of the transorbital lobotamy, Howard Dully shares the story of a painfully dysfunctional childhood, a misspent youth, his struggle to claim the life that was taken from him, and his redemption.

At twelve, Howard Dully was guilty of the same crimes as other boys his age: he was moody and messy, rambunctious with his brothers, contrary just to prove a point, and perpetually at odds with his parents. Yet somehow, this normal boy became one of the youngest people on whom Dr. Walter Freeman performed his barbaric transorbital—or ice pick—lobotomy.

Abandoned by his family within a year of the surgery, Howard spent his teen years in mental institutions, his twenties in jail, and his thirties in a bottle. It wasn’t until he was in his forties that Howard began to pull his life together. But even as he began to live the “normal” life he had been denied, Howard struggled with one question: Why?

There were only three people who would know the truth: Freeman, the man who performed the procedure; Lou, his cold and demanding stepmother who brought Howard to the doctor’s attention; and his father, Rodney. Of the three, only Rodney, the man who hadn’t intervened on his son’s behalf, was still living. Time was running out. Stable and happy for the first time in decades, Howard began to search for answers.

Revealing what happened to a child no one—not his father, not the medical community, not the state—was willing to protect, My Lobotomy exposes a shameful chapter in the history of the treatment of mental illness. Yet, ultimately, this is a powerful and moving chronicle of the life of one man.

Frank Shamrock may be the toughest man alive. The veteran cage fighter—his “extreme fighting” style involves aspects of boxing, kickboxing, wrestling, karate, Brazilian jujitsu, and even Southeast Asian Muay Thai—is the only person to win a title in all three major North American fight promotions. As Ultimate Fighting Champion he was widely regarded as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.

But Shamrock has led a life of profound, even Dickensian, difficulty. Born Frank Alicio Juarez III, he suffered through a childhood of abuse, neglect, and molestation before sliding into juvenile delinquency and petty crime. After finding some refuge in the penal system, he was eventually taken in by Bob Shamrock, a Northern California man who had fostered hundreds of lost boys—among them Frank''s adoptive older brother, Ken, also a champion MMA fighter. An early marriage followed, and an unplanned pregnancy. When Frank couldn''t afford to support his family, he turned to burglary and wound up in state prison—a fact he has never, until now, discussed publicly. But when he was released, Frank joined Ken in training as a cage fighter. For the next two decades he dominated the entire sport.

This riveting book tells his whole story. Shamrock gives vivid accounts of his fights, both in and out of the ring. He explains his losses and discloses what enabled him to become a champion. He credits the fighters who taught and inspired him and points out the weaknesses of many who didn''t. He details his beef with the UFC and the reasons behind his retirement. He tells all about the violence, the injuries, the booze—and how he overcame them all to become a champion in every sense of the word.