White Matter: A Memoir of Family and Medicine

One close-knit Bostonian Jewish working-class family of five sisters and one brother is forced to endure an outsized impact—and create a complicated legacy—as the popularity of lobotomy grows during the 20th century

When Janet Sternburg's grandfather abandoned his family, and her uncle, Bennie, became increasing mentally ill, Sternburg's mother and aunts had to bind together and make crucial decisions for the family's survival. Two of the toughest familial decisions they made were to have Be...