All I Could Do Was Stand in the Woods Summary and Analysis

Rudy Coniglio was the owner of a pizza restaurant in Closter, New Jersey. In 1969, he began to experience a strange phenomenon. Everything began to smell and taste foul for no apparent reason. Both Coniglio and his doctor thought it was the result of some cold or flu, and he began a treatment of antibiotics. The affliction continued, and the only relief was found by standing in the woods behind his home, where the smell was at least tolerable. He stopped eating everything but small amounts of dairy products. Following an array of visits to specialists, one doctor refers Rudy to Dr. Robert Henkin, from the National Institutes of Health, specializing in sensory disorders. He diagnosed the problem as idiopathic hypogeusia. His research and treatment of...