Beautiful. Poignant. Phenomenal.
This was a beautiful read and I learnt so much. I cried and I smiled and there was nothing more that I wanted from this book. Truly a gem.

My first introduction to Shobna Gulati was watching her play the hapless and slightly dim Anita in Victoria Wood's fabulous show, dinnerladies. I love this show so much that I watched it non-stop when it was back on Netflix recently. Shobna is a fantastic actress as a few years after she went on to play Dev's wife in Corrie..I only have a passing interest in Corrie so I can't remember her name in that but she was totally different to Anita.

As an ethnic minority myself, this book struck a chord with me. Having a parent (or parents) who are from a different culture to the one your friends are brought up in can be tough at times..I remember being the only girl in the playground with oil in my hair, for example. However, I grew up in London which was very multicultural back then and still is now.

The book, although sad as it comes about as the death of Shobna's mother, is a joy to read as Shobna traces back her mum's life and finds out so much more than she ever knew before. We often don't see our parents as people with their own lives and hopes, they are just our parents..good old mum and dad.

This book made me cry, it made me laugh.

A brutally honest and heartbreaking memoir by Shobna Gulati. The latter half of this book concentrated on Gulati looking after her mother, after her mother's dementia diagnosis; the earlier half gave an in-depth insight into Gulati's childhood, her tumultuous adolescence and being raised in a well-to-do Asian household in Oldham.

Gender inequality, racial prejudice, her family and not living up to their expectations, fractured relationships, the birth of her son; her struggle as a single parent and her career, were all talked about in detail.

The main thread of this memoir however, is about the matriarch of the family -her mother. Gulati leaves no stone unturned talking about dementia and all the baggage that comes with it; her self-sacrifice into becoming her mother's carer, seeing her mother's sad and heart-wrenching deterioration and the toll that it took on her family.

OMG and Breathe.............................I so need a Hug...............Remember Me?: Discovering My Mother as She Lost Her Memory by Shobna Gulati was one of the most heartbreaking and honest account of many families going through the toughest time of their lives, I am going through it at the mo with my wonderful Mum who was diagnosed with Dementia just under a year ago. So this book was a tough one to read, but I am glad I read it. I am not alone! at the time of my mum's diagnosis I felt so helpless etc, However, this book has shown me to remember the good times we all had as a family and new good times we are going to have in the future, They may be very different but these will be memories I will treasure forever, with my mum and family.
This book was excellent to show me what to look for in the future and hopefully deal with Dementia better.

However, this book did take me Ages to read it and I did get through lots of tissues.....So to Shobna I am sending a big Thank you your way and a big Hug. Thank you for sharing your story and helping me look at Dementia differently x

PS..............Since reading this book my Mum sadly passed away from Covid........I am so glad I read this book, it showed me how to get the best out of my relationship with my mum who I loved so much. (extra piece added 24/01/21 added.)

Best wishes for the future Shobna x

Heart-warming and sincere; Gulati's novel delves into the themes of family and of senility through painting an honest picture of dementia and of the ways it impacts the child-carer's life.

I like Shobna Gulati, although I know her only as the timid girl in Dinner Ladies. What a great series that was. I'm not a Coronation Street viewer and I don't read the tabloids, so I came to 'Remember Me'?' without preconceived ideas about her or her life.

The book falls into three (maybe more) sections; her childhood (before her father's death), her rather 'wild' years of experimentation, (university, dance, sleeping around, getting married to the wrong guy, having a baby by another, getting thoroughly condemned by her own family in the process) and then 'grown up' Shobna, the carer,

Her relationship with her mother is complex throughout and it's fascinating to see the harsh disciplinarian turn into the naughty child and her dementia takes hold. For those going through (now or in the past) or fearing for a future of caring for an elderly relative, it's sure to spark raw and emotional reactions.

Having lost both grandparents to dementia, I found this a very hard read. I'm not a natural carer, neither is my mother, and at times I'd really have preferred not to put myself through it.

It's well written, honest, not trying to paint a 'Look at me being a martyr or a hero' picture, and it addresses a lot of tough decisions carers have to make. I can't say I 'enjoyed' it as I don't believe it's a book that's intended to entertain, but I'm glad I read it.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers.

Powerful and heart-breaking reading as Shobna details her earlier life as the third daughter to her parents and the memories that resurface as her mother deteriorates in her battle with dementia.