His mother gripped his hand. “You lost some of that part, Eddie, in your accident. It’s not your fault.”

Later, he heard her on the phone saying to his sister, Corinne, “He lost that part of the brain that evolved to calculate the consequences of actions.” Corinne, a county prosecutor, called Eddie and their mother co-dependents. She must have said something dismissive to their mother. “I give him a haircut! Keep his spirits up,” Madeleine answered. “You could learn some compassion, Corinne.”

THE BRONOWSKI BRAIN BY BARBARA L BAER 34THPARALLEL MAGAZINE ISSUE 36

“Already explained it to you, Martin.” Eddie lifted his stained Stetson and wiped cold sweat with his palm. “I left the car with a friend who had some problems I didn’t anticipate, and he lost it. All I need is $1000 for a working vehicle to get to Sonoma.”

“Lost a car? How does that happen? You keep eating into principal, Eddie.” Martin Jacobs, the family lawyer, kept his eyes from Eddie’s burning blue stare.

“My capital was put in trust for my well-being by my mother. I shouldn’t have to walk across the Golden Gate. You make a bundl…