This is a memoir unlike any other.

Wendy Mitchell also has a blog where she shares her experiences of living with dementia, and this book is an expansion of that.

I’ll let her introduce herself:

On the 31st July 2014 I was diagnosed with Young onset dementia. I may not have much of a short-term memory anymore but that date is one I’ll never forget…

…What I want is not sympathy. What I want is simply to raise awareness.

I’m now the proud author of the Sunday Times Best Seller, Somebody I Used to Know, which just goes to show, you should never give up on yourself.

Somebody I Used to Know is her account of being diagnosed with the onset of dementia and how it has impacted her life, as well as being a memoir of life as a single mother and dedicated NHS employee.

Here’s the blurb on the back:

How do you build a life when all that you know is changing?

How do you conceive of love when you can no longer recognise those who mean the most to you?

A phenomenal memoir – the first of its kind – Somebody I Used to Know is both a heart-rendering tribute to the woman Wendy Mitchell once was, and a brave affirmation of the woman dementia has seen her become.

This books provides fascinating insight into how an individual can adapt and live with dementia as opposed to suffering from it. Wendy Mitchell does more for raising dementia awareness than anything else I have ever read.

Here she is explaining how she has adapted her home to make it more dementia-friendly.

Somebody I Used to Know is essential reading.