“What wisdom can you find that is greater than kindness?”
Jean-Jacques Rousseau

There have been many recent tributes to the wonderful writer Dr. Oliver Sacks . In addition to being incredibly prolific and a modern-day Renaissance man, he was warmly praised, not just for his lyrical writing style but for the humanity he brought to his investigations of odd medical maladies and the human condition. In reading these tributes, I was struck by several qualities that were mentioned again and again. It was these, I believe, that made him such a beloved and well-respected writer:

Endless curiousity: As a doctor and a researcher, Oliver brought a bright, shining investigative intelligence to both his medical work and his writing. His fascination with medicine and with the many odd cases he studied never seemed to wane. He was always venturing outward, looking for subtle but strong connections that tie us together. Yet he was inquisitive without being intrusive. And often humorous.

Keen observation: As a medical researcher, Oliver brought a sharp eye and critical sensibility to his scientific studies, which served him well in his writing. He had an deft hand in summoning up meaningful details that captured and illuminated whatever he was writing about. You also sensed that he knew what to put in and what to leave out — which details really shed light and which just added color.

Compassionate witnessing: Whether his subject was savants or comatose patients brought to life for a time through an experimental drug, Oliver always treated his subjects with dignity and warmth. When you read one of his books, his compassion and lack of judgment shine through. This is a quality you’ll find in many beloved writers — Dickens, Hugo, Woolf, Cather, Chekhov, Shakespeare. As you read their work, you feel that they are not passing judgment on their characters or subjects, but bearing witness to them.

Boldness: Though many of his subjects were ordinary people in extraordinary situations, by sharing their stories and the aspects of the human condition those stories illuminated, Oliver touched on big, universal themes that matter to us all: the need for love, connection, hope, and joy; the inevitability of endings and sorrow; the yearning to be heard and attended to and appreciated.

To be a beloved writer — surely this is one of the worthiest of aspirations we can have. And the qualities that such writers bring to their work — curiousity, keen observation, compassion, humor, and a sensitivity to universal themes — these are available to us all. Let’s keep them in mind and heart today as we write on.