Oliver Sacks on Gratitude
Dear Readers,
What are you grateful for? Many studies over the past decade have found that people who take time to consciously count their blessings tend to be happier and less depressed. Practicing gratitude may be one of the most important habits we can cultivate. In early 2015, after receiving a terminal diagnosis, Oliver Sacks looked back at the things he was grateful for over the course of a life well lived.
He wrote:
“There will be no one like us when we are gone, but then there is no one like anyone else, ever. When people die, they cannot be replaced. They leave holes that cannot be filled, for it is the fate—the genetic and neural fate—of every human being to be a unique individual, to find his own path, to live his own life, to die his own death. I cannot pretend I am without fear. But my predominant feeling is one of gratitude.”
We think Gratitude is the perfect holiday gift, for those that know and love Oliver Sacks or those that are just discovering his work. Buy a copy or read more about the book here.
We’re excited to share that Awakenings, Tobias Picker’s new opera based on the Oliver Sacks book, will have its world premiere June 5th, 2022 at the Opera Theater of St. Louis in St. Louis, MO. The opera tells the true story of Dr. Sacks’ astounding treatment of survivors of the great sleeping-sickness pandemic, encephalitis lethargica, which swept across the globe in the early twentieth century.
Read more or buy tickets here.
The recent PBS national broadcast premiere of “Oliver Sacks: His Own Life” was very well received, and we’re delighted that our partner, HHMI Tangled Bank Studios, is making free educational screenings available to colleges, universities, and select non-profits across the United States. Through the film’s educational release and our free university screenings program, we can bring Oliver Sacks’ inspiring life and legacy to the next generation of scientists and storytellers. If you know any academic or professional institutions, educations, administrators, and/or student groups that might enjoy a free screening, please let us know.
Sincerely,
Kate, Greg, and Abi
