Mary Steenburgen, Pt. 2

In 'Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain', Oliver Sacks delves into the complex and fascinating relationship between music and the human brain. The book is divided into four parts, each focusing on different themes such as the sudden onset of musicality, musical oddities like synesthesia, and the role of music in memory, movement, and emotion. Sacks examines cases of people with conditions such as musical hallucinations, amusia, and those with extraordinary musical abilities despite neurological impairments. He also discusses how music therapy can treat conditions like Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's, and Tourette's syndrome. The book combines scientific insight with compassionate storytelling to illuminate the profound impact of music on human experience.

Tender Is the Night is a novel that delves into the intense and complicated relationship between Dick and Nicole Diver, an American couple living in the South of France, and Rosemary Hoyt, a young actress. The story explores themes of social class, codependent love, and mental illness, reflecting the excesses and disillusionments of the Jazz Age. Dick, a brilliant psychiatrist, marries Nicole, a wealthy and mentally unstable patient, and their relationship is complicated by Dick's infatuation with Rosemary. The novel critiques the superficiality and moral decay of the wealthy elite and is heavily influenced by Fitzgerald's own life, particularly his relationship with his wife Zelda, who struggled with mental illness.