An extraordinary book. Wish I had read this sooner.  It provides a great insight into the world somebody is living in once they are diagnosed with Dementia. A truly inspiring read.

I laughed and cried and did everything in between, I highly emotional book about someone’s decline into dementia, heartbreaking in places to read (my Nan suffered from it and it was devastated) but a beautifully honest and gut wrenching read too, light hearted in places and devastatingly dark in others I found it a wonderful novel.

Somebody That I Used to Know is an excellent memoir on Wendy Mitchell’s experiences with early onset dementia. Wendy is a brilliant writer, and her ability to articulate her experience and educate others can only be admired. This book has helped to allay my own fears as Wendy provides honest insight, dispels myths, and explains how she has adapted her life.

I devoured this book! what an inspirational read.

Wendy was diagnosed with dementia at the young age of fifty-eight. Wendy is an inspirational to all and I found this book truly thought provoking and a great insight into this awful disease. 

Highly recommend.

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read and review this magnificent book, I feel it is the best book or should I say memoir that I have ever read. So much information written with emotion, Wendy truly is an inspirational woman. If you have no knowledge of dementia this will still be a great book to read and if you do have some then I am sure you will find things to help. I have reviewed everywhere for you.

This is a genuinely inspiring book that gives hope where there doesn't seem to be any chance of it.  Early-onset dementia much be something that is dreaded more than anything and Wendy tells us how it affects her with amazing clarity and honesty.  Her clear memories of times long-gone are fascinating as is her awareness that she can't function as she used to but is unable to do anything about it.  Her bravery in standing up in front of people to educate and inform them is astonishing.  It would have been so much easier for her to live a quiet life at home but she has gone out there for all the sufferers and potential sufferers and I applaud her.  Essential reading for all of us.

A subject so close to my heart. This book gave insight into dementia and was very positive heart warming way. My grandma is in the advanced stages of vascular dementia and though this period is challenging and heartbreaking we have had many many lighthearted silly moments since her diagnosis. Thank you to the author for sharing her personal experiences.

4,5 Stars

Wendy is experiencing small changes in her daily life that are getting more and more, and after several months and some tests she gets the diagnosis of early-onset dementia. This surprises her, since she is only in her 50s and her good memory has always been one of her assets at work.

In the following chapters Wendy gives more examples of how her daily life changed and how she adapts her routine. Most days are normal as before, but you never know when the clouds will come. Or when she isn't able to concentrate on a simple phone call, do multitasking at work or why she cannot make a right turn with the car or bike anymore.

But Wendy does not want to "suffer" from dementia, she just wants to live with it. And so she gets involved with the Alzheimer society, takes courses, gives interviews, participates in a pharmaceutical study, meets Julianne Moore at the premiere of "Still Alice", starts writing a blog - and this book!

I found it very interesting when Wendy describes her early symptoms, and that dementia is not only about memory loss but involves other changes as well. She is also incredibly determined to keep her job and living independently as long as possible. This is a very strong woman who refuses to give up, and I really admire her for that.

I thought I would feel sad reading this book. What I didn’t expect was  to find it so uplifting and inspirational. I found that It gave me so much insight into a person going through early onset dementia. It made me understand about their daily struggles and It made me look at everything in a different light. I loved Wendy’s approach to dealing with dementia, the systems that she put into place and her determination. 

It will change your perceptions on dementia and give you greater understanding. A must read

I laughed and cried and did everything in between, I highly emotional book about someone’s decline into dementia, heartbreaking in places to read (my Nan suffered from it and it was devastated) but a beautifully honest and gut wrenching read too, light hearted in places and devastatingly dark in others I found it a wonderful novel.

An incredible insight into early onset dementia, both I found it both worryti8ngn but inspirational as she does her best to help with research into this awful disease

A lucid, candid and gallant portrayal of what the early stages of dementia feel like, this memoir, with its humour and its sense of resilience, demonstrates how the diagnosis of dementia is not a clear line that a person crosses; they are no different than they were the day before. 

Wendy Mitchell is brave, challenging assumptions and ignorance about the condition. Usually the experience of someone living with dementia is lost; known only partially even to their loved ones. The miracle of this work is that it managed to capture the experience, and hold it up for the rest of us to see. Nothing is more frightening than dementia, says Mitchell - and yet, every day, she chooses to face her fears head on. An inspiring read.

What an incredible book. Inspriing and heart breaking in equal measure. I laughed and I cried. What Wendy has shared is an honest and accurate insight into a disease that affects so many people on so many levels. Her brave and determined attitude to make the most of the situation and her choice to share it with the world to me is profound. I know that I am now beter able to communicate with and process my feelings around my family who have been suffereing with and caring for the relatives who have/had dementia. I feel both honoured and humbled to have been able to read Wendys book.

Three and a half star rating.
This is the documentation of someone’s decline into dementia.  Someone, being Wendy, who had been feeling something wasn’t quite right for a while but carried on regardless, until a series of falls forced her to seek medical help.  She writes of her struggles, her methods of coping with every setback, interspersed with letters to her old, lost self.  It’s enlightening, uplifting but ultimately depressing as we all know this is something that can never be cured no matter what you do or how much you try.  It teaches you to make the most of everything as no one knows what’s lurking around the corner, also to treat people living with this awful disease with respect and always enter their world because it’s impossible for the further advanced ones to enter ours.

A profound and powerful rumination on memory, Somebody I Used to Know charts Wendy Mitchell's heartbreaking journey with early-onset dementia. It is a stark and honest read, and one that will continue to shed on the growing epidemic that is currently ravaging the minds of so many of those we love.

This was so difficult to read. The aching memories of times gone by yet living in the present!  Many of us have somewhat similar experiences and to see them written so that others may know and understand is just so powerful!  It’s something that everyone should read!

What an inspiring and courageous read, Wendy is diagnosed with early onset dementia at the age of 58 and although devastated at the diagnosis, she throws herself into researching the disease and develops amazing strategies to aid her with her daily life, she also becomes an ambassador for dementia highlighting the types of dementia that people are living with, dispelling myths and generally raising awareness,constantly pushing herself to achieve more in her day to day life whilst still being aware that she cannot halt the progression of her disease! A truly remarkable lady who even though she worked for the NHS for many years was totally let down by them as employers which is unforgivable yet she bears  no grudges!
Thank you net galley for this early read.

This is not a tale, a story carefully crafted by an incredible author, this is true life and the most powerful book I have read in a long time. I truly hope that reading Wendy’s memoir will ensure that if I am faced with someone living with dementia that I don’t fall into the trap that many before me have and assume that they are once again a child needing my help, rather than an adult looking for understanding. Young onset alzheimers is the diagnosis Wendy was given at age 58, after a considerable time of noticing small changes in herself and her ability to retain and recall memories and skills. A single parent with two daughters and a love of the outdoors, particularly running and mountain climbing. Despite being abandoned by the medical professionals she was seen by, Wendy decided this was something she would learn to fight, creating ways to overcome each task she was unable to recall being able to do. Despite overwhelming fear and anxiety as little by little many every day tasks slipped away Wendy fills her life by taking on challenge after challenge. Travelling around the country speaking to healthcare professionals about living with dementia, writing a blog, taking part in research and agreeing to be filmed and interviewed continually. There is no part of this novel that does not reach deep into your emotions and tugs at your heart strings over and over, One abiding terror that Wendy has, that she reflects on and talks about throughout  the book, is that one day she won’t recognise her daughters and those she loves the most. As a parent myself I cannot imagine the strength it takes to keep going everyday knowing the inevitability of that one key fear. A truly inspiring read.

I haven’t been blown away by a book in a long time and maybe this was more poignant to me because one of my closest friend’s mums has been diagnosed with dementia in the last couple of weeks but this book is amazing. 
Wendy is an inspiring, determined, strong woman living with (definitely not suffering with) early onset of dementia. The mother of 2 grown up girls, this is her story of how she copes living with dementia, how she campaigns to be a voice of other people living with dementia and how she’s terrified of waking up one day and not knowing who her daughters are. 
She put in place coping mechanisms that we would never think of ....photos on the outside of cupboards/wardrobes to tell her what’s in them when she forgets she has other clothes and washes the same outfit each day; red and blue stickers on the bath taps to remind her which is hot and cold; and some gorgeous tiles around her front door to denote which is her house to new a few. 
I haven’t even finished the book yet but I’m completely hooked. Wendy is the real life ‘Still Alice’
A must read and especially useful for those who have someone with dementia in their lives.

Thank you so much to Wendy and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this wonderful book.

I had to wipe away my tears reading this book because Wendy is so amazing. Her struggle with early onset Alzheimers is emotional and hard, the very essence who she has always been is disappearing. However, she has learnt to live a different life, to adapt her way of living so she can live with the disease and not be defeated by it. She has a constant battle to hold onto the skills she once had. Part of her journey has been to educate others, including healthcare professionals, about what it means to live with Alzheimers. It has been an eye-opener for me and I have a much better understanding now of how this affects people. For anyone who knows someone battling with this then this book is an essential read but it makes for an inspirational read for anyone. Very highly recommend this.