Awakenings cover art

Awakenings

 Preview
This Season's Biggest Deal

$0.99/mo for 3 months + $20 Audible bonus voucher

Auto-renews at $8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime.
Get this deal
Offer ends on 28 December, 2026.
More purchase options

Awakenings

By: Oliver Sacks
Narrated by: Jonathan Davis, Oliver Sacks
Get this deal

Auto-renews at $8.99/mo after 3 months. Offer ends 28 December, 2026. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $15.57

Buy Now for $15.57

This Season's Biggest Deal | $0.99/mo for 3 months + $20 Audible bonus

Auto-renews at $8.99/mo. after 3 months - terms apply.
Summary

'The story of a disease that plunged its victims into a prison of viscous time, and the drug that catapulted them out of it' – Guardian

Hailed as a medical classic, and the subject of a major feature film as well as radio and stage plays and various TV documentaries, Awakenings by Oliver Sacks is the extraordinary account of a group of twenty patients.

Rendered catatonic by the sleeping-sickness epidemic that swept the world just after the First World War, all twenty had spent forty years in hospital: motionless and speechless; aware of the world around them, but exhibiting no interest in it – until Dr Sacks administered the then-new drug, L-DOPA, which caused them, temporarily, to awake from their decades-long slumber . . .

 Brain & Nervous System Essays Neuroscience & Neuropsychology Physical Illness & Disease Psychology Psychology & Mental Health

Critic Reviews

A brilliant and humane book.
It makes you aware of what a knife edge we live on. (Doris Lessing)
Not only a collection of astonishing case histories, Awakenings is also a memoir, a moral essay and a romance. It is a work of genius.
All stars
Most relevant
incredible case studies of human disease, hopefully never to be seen again. the descriptions may be too technical for the lay listener, but the broader picture is beautifully told

a fascinating story

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.