What I Wish People Knew About Dementia

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Pub Date 20 Jan 2022 | Archive Date 20 Jan 2022

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Description

Dispelling the myths and stereotypes of living with dementia, Sunday Times bestselling author of Somebody I Used to Know Wendy Mitchell offers a warm, wise and thoroughly practical guide to life after a life-changing diagnosis – from someone who knows.

What can a diseased brain tell us about being human, living our own lives better and helping those with dementia get the best from theirs?

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.

Dispelling the myths and stereotypes of living with dementia, Sunday Times bestselling author of Somebody I Used to Know Wendy Mitchell offers a warm, wise and thoroughly practical guide to life...


Available Editions

EDITION Hardcover
ISBN 9781526634481
PRICE £14.99 (GBP)

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Featured Reviews

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)

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