Anesthesia : The Gift of Oblivion and the Mystery of Consciousness

Haunting, lyrical, and sometimes shattering, Kate Cole-Adams leavens science with personal experience and brings an intensely human curiosity to the unknowable realm beyond consciousness."An obsessive, mystical, terrifying, and even phantasmagorical exploration of anesthesia’s shadowy terra incognita." - The New YorkerFirst, there’s the injection, then the countdown — and next thing you know, you’re awake. Anesthesia: The Gift of Oblivion and the Mystery of Consciousness is the story of the time in between, an exploration of that most crucial and baffling gift of modern medicine: the disappearing act that enables us to undergo procedures that would otherwise be impossibly, often fatally, painful. In the past 150 years, anesthesia has made surgical intervention routine, from open-heart surgery to the facelift. But how much do anesthesiologists really know about what happens when their patients go under? Can we hear and retain what’s going on? Is pain still pain if we don’t remember it? How does the unconscious mind deal with the body’s experience of being sliced open and ransacked—and how can we help ourselves through it all?"Remarkable in its attention to historical detail and quality of the primary sources...practising anaesthetists should read what has become the single best account of our profession’s most philosophically fragile constructs — consciousness and self... Cole-Adams has distilled and articulated the art of our profession." - Anaesthesia Intensive Care journal (published by Australian Society of Anaesthetists) Kate Cole-Adams is a Melbourne writer and journalist. Her non-fiction work Anaesthesia won the Mark and Evette Moran Nib Literary Award, 2017 and 2017 Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists Media Award. It was shortlisted for the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for Non-fiction, in 2017. Her novel Walking to the Moon is also published by Text. 'An obsessive, mystical, terrifying, and even phantasmagorical exploration of anesthesia's shadowy terra incognita.'—The New YorkerAnesthetize: to render insensibleFirst there's the injection, then the countdown—and next thing you know, you're awake. Anesthesia: The Gift of Oblivion and the Mystery of Consciousness is the story of the time in between, an exploration of that most crucial and baffling gift of modern medicine: the disappearing act that enables us to undergo procedures that would otherwise be impossibly, often fatally, painful.In the past 150 years, anesthesia has made surgical intervention routine, from open–heart surgery to the facelift. But how much do anesthesiologists really know about what happens when their patients go under? Can we hear and retain what's going on? Is pain still pain if we don't remember it? How does the unconscious mind deal with the body's experience of being sliced open and ransacked—and how can we help ourselves through it all?Kate Cole–Adams weaves her own personal experiences with surgery and its aftermath with the explorations and personal accounts of others, doctors and patients alike—accounts of people who wake under the knife, who experience traumatic reactions, dreams, hallucinations, and submerged memories—accounts that evoke and illuminate the provisional nature of the self.Haunting, lyrical, sometimes shattering, Cole–Adams leavens science with personal experience, and brings an intensely human curiosity to the unknowable realm beyond consciousness. "A work of splendid richness and depth." —Helen Garner, author of Everywhere I Look Anesthetize: to render insensible First there's the injection, then the countdown—and next thing you know, you're awake. Anesthesia: The Gift of Oblivion and the Mystery of Consciousness is the story of the time in between, an exploration of that most crucial and baffling gift of modern medicine: the disappearing act that enables us to undergo procedures that would otherwise be impossibly, often fatally, painful. In the past 150 years, anesthesia has made surgical intervention routine, from open-heart surgery to the facelift. But how much do anesthesiologists really know about what happens when their patients go under? Can we hear and retain what's going on? Is pain still pain if we don't remember it? How does the unconscious mind deal with the body's experience of being sliced open and ransacked—and how can we help ourselves through it... Number of Words in Auth: 2 Formats : EPUB Number of Formats : 1 Has Cover : Yes Single Author : Kate Cole-Adams Original Source : Mirc New Files 12-19 B Sorted Author by LN, FN: Cole-Adams, Kate Title Length : 010 Title Parm D : Anesthesia Title Parm F : Anesthesia Num of Aut : 1 Title Parm B : ( Record ID : 2696 Uncomma Author : Kate Cole-Adams Title Parm A : Anesthesia "Anesthetize: to render insensible. First there's the injection, then the countdown--and next thing you know, you're awake. [This book] is the story of the time in between, an exploration of that most crucial and baffling gift of modern medicine: the disappearing act that enables us to undergo procedures that would otherwise be impossibly, often fatally, painful. In the past 150 years, anesthesia has made surgical intervention routine, from open-heart surgery to the facelift. But how much do anesthesiologists really know about what happens when their patients go under? Can we hear and retain what's going on? Is pain still pain if we don't remember it? How does the unconscious mind deal with the body's experience of being sliced open and ransacked--and how can we help ourselves through it all? Kate Cole-Adams weaves her own personal experiences with surgery and its aftermath with the explorations and personal accounts of others, doctors and patients alike--accounts of people who wake under the knife, who experience traumatic reactions, dreams, hallucinations, and submerged memories--accounts that evoke and illuminate the provisional nature of the self. Haunting, lyrical, sometimes shattering, Cole-Adams leavens science with personal experience, and brings an intensely human curiosity to the unknowable realm beyond consciousness."--Dust jacket flap. Into the blue Going under. Awake ; Denial ; Paralysis ; Two hearts The cold bosom of the ocean. Questions without answers ; Things you don't know you know ; Weird science ; Moonless nights ; Lost days ; The most famous anesthesiologist in the world ; Adrift. The island ; Dreams ; Altered states ; Ghost stories Small bright fish. General amnesia ; A working hypothesis ; The memory keepers ; The perfect anesthetic Merging currents. Coming apart ; The hypnotist ; Regression Surfacing. Pulsations and palpitations ; The shallows ; Blood and blushing ; Ballast ; That younger me ; Sky ; Letting go ; Wings. Examines what happens to the unconscious mind while under the effects of anesthesia, tracing the author's own experiences with surgery and the personal accounts of others who have experienced trauma, hallucinations, and submerged memories while under anesthesia