The Man Who Lost His Head : On Illusions and Delusions of the Mind

In The Man Who Lost His Head, Douwe Draaisma explores some of the most bizarre and intriguing brain disorders throughout history. From patients who believe their loved ones have been replaced by doubles or who feel sensations in an arm that was amputated years ago to those who insist they’re dead or have had their heads removed and substituted with another, these cases reveal the mind’s complex way of imposing order amid chaos. Draaisma examines syndromes like Cotard’s and Capgras, where sufferers’ perceptions of self and reality are radically altered, linking delusions to specific brain circuits and cultural context. With engaging storytelling and sharp insights, this book offers a captivating look at the human mind’s remarkable and often mysterious and disturbing workings.

MEDIA REVIEWS

Engaging and informative. The strength of this book is in introducing the reader to rare, largely unknown and fascinating features of mental life. A page turner. - Walter A. Brown, Clinical Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Brown University, and author of Lithium: A Doctor, a Drug, and a Breakthrough

From the guillotine to the psychiatric clinic, Douwe Draaisma takes us on a journey that reveals the stubborn ways in which so many humans persist in seeing only the cold logic of rationality, when reality is in fact far from intelligible and full of curious experiences undergone by remarkable people. The Man Who Lost His Head contains page after page of profound insights. It’s impossible to put down. - Michael S. Gazzaniga, Director of the SAGE Center for the Study of Mind at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and author of Who's in Charge? Free Will and the Science of the Brain

Douwe Draaisma draws on a deep scholarship to deliver new and fascinating insights into brain function and dysfunction from famous cases in the psychiatric annals. Written in an easy style that is both lyrical and accessible, this gem of a book is filled with fascinating stories of lived psychosis informed by twenty-first-century neuroscience. Compassionate, compelling and illuminating, The Man Who Lost His Head is a must-read for anyone who wants to deepen their understanding not just of psychosis, but of the human condition. - Veronica O’Keane, Retired Professor of Psychiatry and Consultant Psychiatrist, Trinity College Dublin, and author of A Sense of Self: Memory, the Brain, and Who We Are

Douwe Draaisma is one of our most erudite and eloquent of guides to the complexities of mind and brain. His new book takes the reader on a captivating journey into the many ways in which people come to perceive and believe in realities that others do not share. - Charles Fernyhough, Director of the Centre for Research into Inner Experience and Professor of Psychology, Durham University, and author of Pieces of Light: The New Science of Memory