I recently heard an interview with Bonnie Blodgett (shown above right), who wrote a memoir about the experience of losing and rediscovering the sense of smell. I am intrigued, and have placed this book at the top of my reading list.
If you, too, have read or are planning to read Remembering Smell, let's chat about it. How about an October book club? Any takers? I will post a brief review of the book, along with a few questions, on Monday, October 18. Please join us to share your thoughts and reactions to the book!
The book is easy to find: here are links to Amazon or Barnes & Noble.
Remembering Smell: A Memoir of Losing--and Discovering--the Primal Sense
By Bonnie Blodgett
Hardcover, 256 pages
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
I, too, heard this interview. Quite fascinating.
I hope you get a chance to read the book!
This is very VERY interesting.
One of my favourite singers ever, Michael Hutchence from INXS, lost his sense of smell after a very violent fight (he got hit in the head).
After that he went in a downward spiral that ended with his suicide.
I am not saying that losing his smell DIRECTLY made him suicidal, just that MANY times I wondered, after reading what happened to him, how completely loosing my sense of smell would affect me, not only preventing me from smelling fragrances, but also from enjoying food, the smell of the country, the beach.
Many people live with sensory handicaps, like loosing sight or hearing, and that is well documented and fairly common (of course I wish no one had to suffer that) and there is specific training for people to overcome their disabilities and become productive and functional. As usual, smell is so underrated that there is no “training” at all to overcome this. Imagine eating food that is already rotten, or having a moment where your deodorant has “abandoned” you and not realizing… Well I could go on. I will read this book if I get the time, perhaps on my next vacation next month.
“As usual, smell is so underrated that there is no “training” at all to overcome this.” Very interesting observation, Kaos!
What a sad story. And +1 for what Nozknoz said.
James Herriott talks about a dog with such terrible gastrointestial problems that nobody could stand to be near him–until he was adopted by a man who had lost his sense of smell.
Yes! The flatulent dog was first owned by Mrs Pumphrey, who bought him to be friends with Trickey-Woo.
Oh yes! Trickey Woo! I read that series as a teen and loved them.
That’s a new one to me! Thanks!
I have to find out more and see how much of her experience parallels my own. I am definitely reading this one.
Glad you’ll be joining. I’d love to hear about your own experience,
This sounds very interesting. My grandmother lost her sense of smell and while we never talked about it, I’ve often wondered since what it was like for her. I lost my sense of smell for a few days after a bad sinus infection a few years ago and it was incredibly distressing–even though it was in my pre-perfume-obsession life, not being able to smell food and other things created a kind of low-level panic in me. And I was tremendously relieved when my ability to smell returned. I’ll definitely pick up the book, and would enjoy taking part in a discussion about it.
Sounds like she never even mentioned it much?
Thank you for letting us know about this. It was a great interview. The idea is completely fascinating (and scary), and I will look for the book. A friend of mine has no sense of smell, and his enjoyment of food is so different. Texture is very important, and figures prominently in food descriptions with him.
I look forward to the book, and to the discussion here, at NST.
Texture, of course. But still…
This sounds like a great read. I’ll be back for the discussion in October.
Great! See you soon!
I temporarily lost my sense of smell because of a cold I had a couple of weeks ago. I wouldn’t say it made me depressed, but it wasnt exactly uplifting either. Even though you don’t use your sense of smell as actively as you do with your eyes and touch, it still has a presence. When I got my sense of smell back one evening, I could feel in all of me how much happier I became. I could smell perfume, soap, food, my apartment – it was fantastic!
I am intrigued by all of your own stories (you , friends relatives)) of temporary and permanent loss of the sense of smell. I have not experienced it . I so look forward to reading and discussing the book!
Cheryl – I’m in! Thanks for posting this.
Yay!
I am definitely planning to read this. The sense of smell is surely the most underappreciated of our senses. Being quite vulnerable to respiratory infections, I have frequently experienced a temporary loss of smell. The most recent experience was shortly after hearing the interview mentioned above, and it gave me quite a turn. Although I have always recovered fully (including my sense of smell) within a few weeks, I began to contemplate what it would be like if my sense of smell did not return. I could not appreciate perfume; food would lose its appeal; working in my garden–one of my greatest joys in life–would not be nearly as satisfying without the myriad scents of nature–there is the wonderful scent of the flowers and herbs in my garden, of course, but beyond that there is the fresh green scent of leaves and the earthy sweetness of damp soil. Would I feel as clean after a shower if I could not smell the soap and shampoo? Would freshly laundered linens and clothes be as pleasurable if they did not smell clean? Would going to the beach ever be as much fun without the salty smell of the sea air? As it was, it took about a week for my sense of smell to start to recover, and I was absolutely elated when it did.
Scary!
And, yes, the sense is so under-appreciated.