On the Move
An impassioned, tender, and joyous memoir by the author of Musicophilia and The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat. When Oliver Sacks was twelve years old, a perceptive schoolmaster wrote in his report: "Sacks will go far, if he does not go too far." It is now abundantly clear that Sacks has never stopped going. From its opening pages on his youthful obsession with motorcycles and speed, On the Move is infused with his restless energy. As he recounts his experiences as a young neurologist in the early 1960s, first in California, where he struggled with drug addiction and then in New York, where he discovered a long-forgotten illness in the back wards of a chronic hospital, we see how his engagement with patients comes to define his life. With unbridled honesty and humor, Sacks shows us that the same energy that drives his physical passions--weight lifting and swimming--also drives his cerebral passions. He writes about his love affairs, both romantic and intellectual; his guilt over leaving his family to come to America; his bond with his schizophrenic brother; and the writers and scientists--Thom Gunn, A. R. Luria, W. H. Auden, Gerald M. Edelman, Francis Crick--who influenc
Themes & atmosphere
What you might want to know about On the Move
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
Late in his life, the neurologist Oliver Sacks writes about his motorcycle years, his weightlifting on Muscle Beach, his work with patients in chronic-care wards, his hidden long-term partnership, and the books he wrote along the way.
Yes. On the Move (2015) is Oliver Sacks's autobiography, written and published shortly before his death from cancer. It covers his California motorcycle years, his medical career, and his many books.
No. On the Move can stand alone, though readers familiar with The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat or Awakenings will recognize many references. It is a popular entry point to his nonfiction.
On the Move was written by Oliver Sacks, published in 2015 by imusti.
On the Move is 416 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, On the Move takes most readers 6 to 9 hours to finish.
On the Move is a standalone novel by Oliver Sacks, not part of a series.
On the Move is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.