Oliver Sacks

Above is a classic image of Dr. Oliver Sacks, PhD. He has been, for decades, a hero of mine (and many). The Man Who Mistook His Wife for A Hat and An Anthropologist on Mars were the books that hooked me, and then Uncle Tungsten cemented my commitment to the man for life. He is a physician who, no matter what genetics, human behaviour or pathogens did to a person, he only and always saw the patient's soul. He is what empathy looks like. And he is leaving us. Cancer is taking him. I have known for a long time but it breaks my heart.

He is a great a man and the epitome of physicians thanks to a remarkable heart and mind. But he is also the most talented of writers. My love of all things Sackian comes from his writing; I have only experienced him as a (passionate) reader.

And wouldn't you know it, just before he leaves us, he writes another book. It is called On the Move. I haven't read it yet but, of course, I will. I have read everything he has written (even his challenging and thorough medical text book about migraine headaches). It is called "on the move" because that is the title of a poem and motor biking written by his friend Thomas Gunn. The poet shares with Dr. Sacks, a passion for motorcycles.

Now I have another reason to love Dr. Sacks.; not because I, too, like hogs. No. My new reason is because I am a sucker for handsome men and just look at this photo of him on his bike in his early years: What a total hottie!