Nautilus: My Visit with My Dead Father's Brain

On a brisk January evening this year, I was speeding down I–295 in northeast Florida, under a full moon, to visit my dad’s brain. As I drove past shadowy cypress swamps, sinewy river estuaries, and gaudy-hued billboards of condominiums with waterslides and red umbrellas boasting, “Best place to live in Florida,” I was aware of the strangeness of my visit. Most people pay respects to their loved ones at memorials and grave sites, but I was intensely driven to check in on the last remaining physical part of my dad, immortalized in what seemed like the world’s most macabre library.

When my father, Christopher Lehmann-Haupt—cultural critic and longtime New York Times book reviewer—suffered a fatal stroke in 2018, expressive aphasia stole the words that shaped his life. He participated in a brain aging study and, after his death, he donated his brain to science. I didn’t expect that gift would become a doorway to understanding his mind and exploring how storytelling lives in the brain.

Beginning in his 70s, my dad loyally volunteered for a longitudinal study on the aging brain run by the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. The purpose was to contribute to the body of scientific data on neurodegenerative diseases, such as dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, which Nature Medicine recently predicted could double in the United States over the next 35 years to 1 million new cases annually.

Studies reveal that our most human qualities—connection, emotion, and stories are not just comforting; they are neuroprotective and better for longevity than any pill, potion, or fancy technology. Sharing personal experiences or fictional narratives can boost neuroplasticity, reinforce neural networks, and even encourage the growth of new synapses.

Read the full story in Nautilus magazine