We all sadly know someone with Dementia and this book is really informative read to help someone suffering with Dementia or if you are a carer or family member of someone with Dementia. A must read for all.

This is Wendy’s second book about her journey with dementia. The personal bits (either hers or her friends) were interesting. There’s plenty of advice which could also apply to other forms of brain injury such as strokes. There was too much about this or that report from different countries which were dull so I bypassed them completely. It was just something to fill in the pages.

Late feedback due to personal problems.
I thought Wendy Mitchell first book was a eye opener but this had me crying and laughing and so helpful going through this now but with the tips and hearing what others patients cope with and don’t like has made it so ease. This book should be given to anyone who wants to work in this area Wendy I hope your doing well.

An outstanding book to help people with dementia


Wendy can give a voice to those who can’t express themselves anymore. This book is a vital resource and reference in accompanying someone with dementia, whether you are a family member or in the medical profession.

When Wendy was diagnosed with Dementia in July 2014, she had no idea where to start gathering information about her disease. She hopes her book will give people a start by gently accompanying them through their diagnosis. Wendy highlights the fact that dementia is not only about memory loss but also about changes in “relationship with our senses, emotions and communication”.

Wendy thoroughly covers everything about dementia in this book from an insider's perspective. The information she imparts is vital to those of us who can never fully understand the disease because we have never had it. For example, a patterned carpet can be disorientating because the shapes move in front of their eyes. The gait of a person with dementia is difficult already and made more difficult over a carpet that seems to move. She reminds us that she cannot even look for her phone because her brain does not remember what it looks like until she happens to see her phone.

Wendy describes what it is like to go back in years and remember those more than current times in her life with dementia. But she says dreams, paranoia and reality are a blur in her mind and she cannot decipher which is which. Relationships change when dealing with dementia. Wendy gives valuable insights that will assist in managing them in creative and compassionate ways, for families as well as carers.

Because Wendy covers every possible aspect of living with dementia, her book is an important resource for every person, family and those in caring positions facing the daunting, tragic circumstances around dementia.

In 2019 Wendy was awarded an honorary Doctor of Health by the University of Bradford for her contribution to research. There could not be more validation for what Wendy has contributed to understanding dementia.

BonnieK

Elite Reviewing Group received a copy of the book to review.

A really useful and informative book, full of honesty and has given me a much better understanding of the world of dementia, what to expect, how to support both the person who is suffering with it and the people providing care. The insights into diagnosis, trajectory and care were just brilliant.

written literally from the heart, the author has dementia and has written a wonderful insight into her brain. How it works, what to do to alert it to reminders and how to survive on a daily basis. Its a book of hope not gloom and doom, I have learnt so much from this book and has made me fully understand what happens to someone with even mild dementia and steps i can take without the other person noticing, to be open and kind. Everyone should read this book. Thank you #NetGalley for the copy to review.

Fabulous read! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ When Wendy Mitchell was diagnosed with Young Onset Dementia at the age of fifty-eight, her brain was overwhelmed with images of the last stages of the disease — those familiar tropes, shortcuts and clichés that we are fed by the media, or even our own health professionals.

But her diagnosis far from represented the end of her life. Instead, it was the start of a very different one.

Wise, practical and life affirming, What I Wish People Knew About Dementia combines anecdotes, research and Wendy Mitchell’s own brilliant wit and wisdom to tell readers exactly what she wishes they knew about dementia.

I enjoyed this m, I definately recommend and will do to the people I work with. I work in a dementia home so was great to read and understand

What a very interesting and thought provoking memoir. I will admit to shedding a few tears during reading it. An emotional journey and one that many of us will face.

A Five-star read that everyone needs to read to get a deeper understanding of Dementia. With how prevalent dementia is becoming everyone should pick this book up, as well as Wendy’s previous book, as it really shows you behind the curtain, what the truth behind dementia is. So many people struggle to understand the condition and understand how many different types, and this story shows us that, it shows us how some medical professionals don’t know it all, or even really anything, and so many people won’t understand that. But when you are on the other side, struggling, this will help you understand. This gives you some much needed perspective if you are stuck in the weeds, but give you a broader understanding if those weeds haven’t pulled you under yet.

I read Wendy’s other book someone I used to know and was blown away by her courage and tenacity so was thrilled to be asked to read What I wish people knew about dementia, particularly as dementia is very pertinent to myself, my father had lewy body dementia and as a nurse I regularly look after dementia patients!
Wendy continues to amaze me, 6 years after her dementia diagnosis she is more active than ever, campaigning for better dementia care, educating healthcare professionals and being an amazing advocate/ambassador for dementia patients!
Wendy doesn’t conform to the stereotypical idea of a dementia patient that many people have, she totally bucks the trend, living independently, travelling alone and speaking at conferences all aided and abetted by her trusty strategies that work for her, totally inspiring and a must read for anyone diagnosed with dementia, their families/Carers and health care professionals!
Thank you netgalley for this early read.

I enjoyed Wendy Mitchell's follow-up book - it's insightful and interesting, particularly if you have family, like I have, whose lives are impacted by dementia. Wendy splits the book into different sections, dealing with a variety of themes, such as emotions, independence and loneliness. She uses her own experiences, plus those of others who have dementia, and debunks myths to some extent. What is particularly interesting is how medically-trained people, including her own GP, respond to dementia - and seemingly don't know enough about it.

Even though it thought-provoking, especially things about home decor and sitting in the dark with curtains open (my mum did this and now it makes more sense), parts of this are a little too biased. For example, the section about going into care. We had to move my mum into care as the home-care situation we had wasn't working - and it was too worrying and stressful to manage her life in a different way. I realise that everyone had different experiences, though. So, I advise reading this book to give you varied perspectives on dementia - and what is good to know if you don't know already.

Wendy Mitchell had a busy job with the NHS,raised her two daughters alone, and spent her weekends running and climbing mountains. Then, slowly, a mist settled deep inside the mind she once knew so well, blurring the world around her. She didn't know it then, but dementia was starting to take hold. In 2014, at age fifty-eight, she was diagnosed with young-onset Alzheimer's.

Mitchell shares the heartrending story of her cognitive decline and how she has fought to stave it off. What lay ahead of her after the diagnosis was scary and unknowable, but Mitchell was determined and resourceful, and she vowed to outwit the disease for as long as she could."

I absolutely adored this book, and having been diagnosed with Spina Bifida Occulta at the late age of 38 (which answered so many questions about my problems growing up, but was not detected in the 1960's) I completely understood the slow deterioration of the former self and the realisation that a new Wendy was emerging and her former persona was just "somebody she used to know". The book is honestly written and I loved the dual aspect and the way she writes letters to the old Wendy, especially the one where she writes that she would have liked to know it was her last chance to dance/drive/walk unaided and would have enjoyed them all the more. I sobbed at this, because it was exactly how I felt and no-one else had ever really understood that until Wendy. When I developed MS a few years ago too, my life took another hit and my legs literally went from under me. It hurts so much when you lose friends, simply because of an illness, you are after all still the same person, with just a few minor things missing that have been taken from you, so friends please don't take your friendships away from us all too. We are feeling lost and alone enough already!

I was so pleased to read that Wendy began to see her condition as a gift, a chance to experience the world with fresh eyes and embraced her new way of living, devoting her time to educating doctors, caregivers, and other people living with dementia, helping to reduce the stigma surrounding disease, and paving the way for those who are following to have an easier ride..

I have taken her advice and created a room where I can feels calm and happy, with family photos, a warm blanket, and a cup of tea, especially on days when my legs don't want to work as they should.
(I also follow Wendy's podcasts and this is a wonderful way of sharing her daily trundles with her)