Gratitude, by Oliver Sacks

How to embrace life.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the WBZ Book Club. I'm Jordan Rich with Thanksgiving.
Here a book to recommend by the late doctor Oliver Sachs,
and it's called Gratitude, as is his quote, I have
been a sentient, being a thinking animal on this beautiful planet,
and that in itself has been an enormous privilege and adventure.
Gratitude is a series of essays in which the late
doctor Sachs reflects on the accomplishments in his life, a

(00:22):
life soon to come to an end, and much of
it has to do with how he comes to terms
and copes with his own death. His point of view
is definitely distinctive. The final chapter in the book, Sabbath,
focuses on his young life being raised as an Orthodox Jew,
severing the ties with his religion when his mother rejected
him totally when she found out he was gay. Later
in life, doctor Sachs discovered the positive experience of Sabbath

(00:45):
and learned to enjoy the quote seventh day of his
life as well. A neuroscientist who brought hope and healing
to others throughout his life, this book expresses with eloquence
what he is going through as his life is coming
to an End Gratitude by doctor Oliver Sachs, The Book
Club WBZ, Boston's news radio