Oliver Sacks: His Own Life

Oliver Sacks writing on porch, 2015

Credit: Courtesy of Bill Hayes

Directed by Ric Burns, American Masters – Oliver Sacks: His Own Life explores the life and work of the legendary neurologist and storyteller as he shares intimate details of his battles with drug addiction, homophobia, and a medical establishment that accepted his work only decades after the fact. Sacks, known for his literary works Awakenings and The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, was a fearless explorer of unknown cognitive worlds who helped redefine our understanding of the brain and mind, the diversity of human experience, and our shared humanity.  The film features exclusive interviews with Sacks conducted just weeks after he received a terminal diagnosis, and months prior to his death in August 2015, and nearly two dozen deeply revealing and personal interviews with family members, colleagues, patients, and close friends, including Jonathan Miller, Robert Silvers, Temple Grandin, Christof Koch, Robert Krulwich, Lawrence Weschler, Roberto Calasso, Paul Theroux, Bill Hayes, Kate Edgar, and Atul Gawande, among others. The film also draws on unique access to the extensive archives of the Oliver Sacks Foundation.

American Masters – Oliver Sacks: His Own Story will air and stream on WXXI-TV and wxxi.org/tv and on PBS stations nationwide on April 9 at 9:00pm ET. The program will re-air on WXXI-World 5/14 at 8PM and 5/15 9am. 

American Masters: Oliver Sacks: His Own Life Website: pbs.org/oliversacks

Hear from Local Neurologists from the University of Rochester About Their Work and How Oliver Sacks Inspired Them: 

Dr. John Foxe, PhD, University of Rochester Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience

Dr. Blanca Valdovinos, Neurologist in Rochester NY

Watch Film Trailer: