More from Eric Winick
Railfans
(00:16:22)
From: Eric Winick
Since October 1962, a small group of dedicated rail enthusiasts have been sending each other letters, photos, and reports about their common passion. Over time, what began ...
Pride of the Lady Cubs
(00:18:08)
From: Eric Winick
With his comedy career stalled, 30 year-old Scott Schultz enrolls as a Freshman at down-and-out L.A. City College, and is named Sports Editor of the school paper by default. ...
Beyond the Rope: A Captivity's Aftermath
(00:14:51)
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Former NY Times reporter David Rohde was abducted in Afghanistan only two months after marrying Cosmopolitan photo director Kristen Mulvihill. Seven months later, following a ...
What Was Left Behind
(00:15:20)
From: Eric Winick
Arriving at her family's storage space in Syracuse, NY, a Brooklyn-based writer and mom is surprised to find the contents far more plentiful and significant than expected. ...
dada's "Dizz Knee Land"
(00:03:40)
From: Eric Winick
That was the 90s for you: power pop ruled the airwaves, and songs like “Dizz Knee Land” were aimed directly at the heart of Generation X.
The Outfield's "Your Love"
(00:03:45)
From: Eric Winick
First Tony Lewis says, “I just wanna use your love tonight.” Then he admits, “I don’t want to LOSE your love tonight.” Well, which is it?
The Chambers Brothers' "Time Has Come Today"
(00:03:20)
From: Eric Winick
Upon learning of their new song, Columbia president Clive Davis asked for it to be recorded by a white group, something the band was vehemently against.
Blues Image's "Ride Captain Ride"
(00:03:50)
From: Eric Winick
Expectations ran high for Blues Image after Jimi Hendrix pronounced them “one of the best up and coming bands” in an issue of Melody Maker.
Camper Van Beethoven's "Take the Skinheads Bowling"
(00:03:14)
From: Eric Winick
It’s the not caring that makes it work, the not knowing why the skinheads have to go bowling – or even if they’d WANT to go.
Men Without Hats' "The Safety Dance"
(00:03:03)
From: Eric Winick
The track was apparently written in response to bouncers who routinely tossed pogo-ing new wave dancers from the club floor.
Piece Description
In 1995, Douglas A. Nadeau of Marblehead, Massachusetts underwent a pallidotomy at Mass. General Hospital, an operation designed to eradicate neurons in his brain that no longer responded to dopamine, the naturally-created chemical that facilitates movement. Nine years earlier, while on a business trip, Doug had been bitten by an insect and developed strange Parkinsonian symptoms, such as the inability to keep his eyes open while talking. These caused numerous problems for Doug, a high-powered corporate lawyer in Boston. Over time, the symptoms worsened until Doug lost his mobility at night and was reduced to a hospital bed. Following the procedure, in which Doug practically walked off the operating table, he found he was unable to inhibit certain antisocial tendencies that, prior to the surgery, he'd kept repressed. To make matters worse, his surgery turned out to be a failure, and his symptoms returned one by one. The next nine years tested the boundaries and limits of love, marriage, and tolerance, both within the family and in the Nadeaus' wide circle of friends and acquaintances.
2 Comments
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Review of How Are You Who You Are?WOW! Let me repeat that . . . WOW! Talk about incredible storytelling that tenderly and compassionately brings us, the listener, into the most intimate and personal rooms of the Nadeau?s lives, not to mention Eric?s as well; one that forces us to reflect on those elements and characteristics of ?who we are,? which we sometimes keep hidden from the world and more often ourselves. The feature has an extremely well-written narrative and is marvelously voiced. The spanning of the years, use of archival audio and the touching use of Beethoven?s piano music makes this a powerful and poignant piece. |
Transcript
VO What if someone you loved changed so completely that after a while you could barely recognize them? Would you still love them?
Music: Beethoven, Andante con veriazione
VO I grew up in Marblehead, Massachusetts, a classic old New England town known for its spectacular harbor and yacht clubs. We had our share of remarkable families, but the one I remember best were the Nadeaus. I'd met the son when I was in the sixth grade, and over time got to know his parents as well. Lynn was an award-winning math teacher and activist, and Doug was a prominent Boston attorney with degrees from Harvard, Princeton, and Yale. I'd never experienced anything like Doug and Lynn Nadeau: brilliant, successful, enlightened people whose large Victorian on the water was a social hub for family and friends. My own parents may have raised me, instilled their values and taught me how to live. The...
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Ben Markus
Posted on August 07, 2008 at 05:26 PM | Permalink
Review of How Are You Who You Are?
Bravo. This is a moving, well written, and nicely voiced story. The music is perfectly placed: not overpowering and always appropriate. I was brought to tears by the genuine love Doug's wife holds for him--even when he's essentially no longer himself. Her unrequited love is tragic. Keep up the good work.