On the Sea of Memory: A Journey from Forgetting to Remembering (Hardcover)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Cott, a Rolling Stone writer, lost the memory of 15 years of his life (from 1985 to 2000) after receiving electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) for severe depression. Forced to rely on the testimony of friends and his own previous writings to build partial accounts of his missing past, Cott offers an autobiographical meditation that is part lament for his loss of identity, part investigation into the ECT debate and part neuroscience journalism. Cott reflects engagingly on our culture's more recent cinematic and literary representations of memory loss and on memory's centrality to the formation of selfhood. In a series of chapters, Cott (The Search for Omm Sety, etc.) quizzes neurobiological experts on the nature of the brain, ECT and memory loss, the devastating effects of Alzheimer's, memory enhancement, false memory syndrome and recent neuroscientific discoveries concerning memory and the brain. Cott also includes dialogues with thinkers versed in Judaism, Sufism and Buddhism, and a specialist on African storytelling, as he learns how each of those traditions approaches the spiritual significance of memory. Impeccably written, informative and well researched, Cott's highly personal account communicates current concepts in neurobiology and ruminates on the philosophical and psychological dimensions of memory loss.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Between 1998 and 1999, Cott underwent a course of 36 electroshock treatments that eventually caused him to lose his memory of his life from 1985 to 2000. In this incredible book, Cott draws on his own personal experience, research on electroshock treatments, and interviews with 12 individuals known for their work on memory. Part 1 focuses on forgetting--how he lost his memories, the desire to forget traumatic incidents, and the memory-robbing Alzheimer's disease. Part 2 focuses on remembering, including the neurology of memory and false and recovered memories. Cott also explores cultural attitudes from African griots and Jewish traditions as he explores the connections between memory and the soul. Cott talks to Ellen Burstyn about the use of emotional memories in acting methods taught by Konstantin Stanislavsky and with a Tibetan Buddhist on remembrances of past lives. This is a fascinating look at a personal journey of memory and loss as well as the science and ephemera of memory. Vanessa Bush
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Random House (October 4, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400060583
• ISBN-13: 978-1400060580
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #916,976 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars this one is different..., July 14, 2009

By	Jonathan. Z "sleepyjz" (Toronto, ON) - See all my reviews

Alright, here goes my first amazon review ever. I do not know what it is about this book, but I have never been punched in the heart as hard during the act of reading. I will be honest, I have only read part 1 of this book and yet, if part two does not live up to this greatness, I would still give it a 5/5. I really can not pin down exactly why this book is so powerful. This book is akin to watching "Requiem for a Dream" but instead of leaving you depressed, Jonathan Cott seems to incorporate these astoundingly uplifting segments of text after each upsetting passage. It is this emotional roller coaster - this down, followed by a strong up (that stays 'up') that really gives this book some punch. I have always been disturbed by Alzheimer's disease (along with any form of memory loss), and in the middle of the chapter that deals with it, I might have left the book alone, but by the end of it, I had bitter-sweet tears in my eyes. I am very glad I kept with it. I initially had definite doubts with the format of the book (most of it is in interview style) by I was more than surprised at how absorbing this format is. As the Richard Gere quote on the back says "On the Sea of Memory is a scary book, a teaching book". Usually this means that the following is tough to endure but full of wisdom. Rather, Cott makes the learning experience quite fulfilling and inspiring for such a devastating subject. Simply put, "On the Sea of Memory" is a beautiful book.

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Many thoughtful perspectives on memory, August 10, 2006

By	Carol Ochs (New York City) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Cott's story is amazing but his reaching out to experts in so
many fields to help us understand memory's role in science,
religion, our humanity is priceless!

9 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars So where is the outrage?, November 18, 2005

By	John M. Friedberg (Berkeley, California) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This erudite author lost 15 years of his life's memories after 36 electroshock treatments in 1998. The first chapter is a MUST for anyone contemplating this procedure. Jonathan Cott didn't know Princess Diana had died and didn't recognize names in his address book.

But CAVEAT EMPTOR. It appears the author has also had his cojones expunged along with his memories. Skeptically quoting the quacks who promote shock treatment (e.g. Max Fink: "ECT is one of God's gifts to mankind") he nonetheless "anxiously awaits the day" when convulsions can be induced by magnets.

He calls ECT a deal with the devil, a trade off of memory and brain cells with every shock for "improvement" which is temporary at best. He believes that ECT should be used only as a "last resort," a cliche which has rationalized the procedure for 67 years and resulted in the electroshocking of more than 6 million people in the U.S. alone.

Could this be an instance of the taming effect of electroshock? One would think this man would be outraged at having lost 15 years of his life's precious memories.

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