Gratitude by Oliver Sacks (2015-11-24)

Very sincere and true in his final words, as Oliver Sacks always is. However t no sample received from the storedue to the extreme brevity of this text. He felt he had led a good life just as his readers will agree.

This admittedly very slender volume - a collection of 4 essays (although "Meditations" might be better description) is genuinely moving.
Whilst this collection of essays is a slim volume is not in question - that it provides insights into some of the most sacred of mysteries is also not in question.
That we shall all die is without question - that we shall all know, in advance of this event, that we shall die "soon" is not guaranteed and provokes a series of important questions such as: What is it to have a good life?
Oliver Sacks provides his readers with much insight into what is it to have this "good life as well as to experience facing death and accepting ones fate with "Gratitude" not bitterness. As always Sacks draws on the personal for his writing however these 4 essays are, by far, the most personal of all his writings and provide an interesting coda and counterpoint to the second (and final) instalment of his autobiography "On the Move".
Sacks' "Gratitude" leaves the reader with tears of both joy and sorrow - the joy that we have known him through his writing and the sense of wonder he conveys and tears of sadness for what we have lost.
A truly beautiful addition to his life's work.

Four essays that Sacks had published in other places, bundled into this little book. I had already read all of these essays in other places, so this was nothing new for me and a bit of a disappointment.

3 stars is kind of generous. I should have noticed, but the book was 60-odd pages long and should have been priced at perhaps $2.99 (the Kindle edition, that is). It consists of 4 columns from the New York Times, 2 of which I had already read, and handful of not particularly interesting photographs. I thought it was a pity that Dr. Sacks's estate decided to exploit his memory in that way. I have been a fan of Dr. Sacks since I read The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and have since read nearly every subsequent book. After reading The Mind's Eye, I sent him a brief e-mail about an unexpected improvement in stereoscopy and assured him that I would understand if he did not answer. To the contrary, he sent me a personal, handwritten reply, which I have kept and to some extent, I suppose, cherish. I had been looking forward to his last book, but now I feel like his executor has besmirched his reputation, and I feel cheated in more ways than one.