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.

Outstanding. I now have a much better knowledge of what living with dementia is like. Thank you Wendy Mitchell - an inspiration and a beacon shining light into hopefully a brighter future for those diagnosed with dementia. I’ve just bought the paperback for my husband and can’t wait to discuss it with him, particularly as we think his mother may benefit from our new understanding. Thank you so much

Fantastic insight into the mind of someone living with Alzheimer’s . I was moved to tears of sorrow and frustration at times reading this . We are all guilty of thinking all people with dementia are the same , this book shows us they are not . Wendy is a wonderful ambassador for dementia and sets out to show how ,with some adjustments ,people can live with the disease and not sufferer from it . It should be recommended reading for all healthcare staff ,all employers ,Government ministers ,politicians ,in fact everyone .

This was an amazing book, dealing with early onset dementia, written by someone who was living through it. The insight it gave the reader into the problems the author was dealing with was inspirational! Wendy is so positive about her condition and how problems can be overcome. She has certainly educated me . It was very readable, informative and should be compulsory reading for all healthcare professionals and the general public.. I loved the way she found ways around each problem , When driving was too dangerous she bought a bike! Her iPad and post it notes becoming her memory. Her daughters should be so proud .
Thank you to Netgalley, Bloomsbury Publishing and Wendy Mitchell for giving me the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review

Wendy Mitchell, in spite of having to live with dementia, is one very determined lady. Since her condition was diagnosed she has both run a blog and written this book. She details the issues that dementia sufferers face and how gradually you face living in a fog where memories or capabilities temporarily desert you. Wendy devises ways to live with these issues not least by taking on a demanding workload with the Dementia Society. She travels around the country giving talks to encourage medical professionals to be more positive in how they communicate the illness. The preparatory work she has to do for each of this outings makes for fascinating reading. A gentle criticism I have is that, to give the book more balance, it might have been interesting to hear the opinions of others who have engaged with Wendy. But for those living with this illness, or their friends and family, reading this signposts one route to counteract the over-arching negativity and hopelessness with which it is all too often associated.

Wendy Mitchell writes with a searing honesty. Straight to the point and highly emotive, her optimism and hopefulness shine through in what could be an otherwise very bleak book. Wendy was diagnosed with early onset dementia at just 58 and here she charts her struggles with the diagnosis and how she deal with it and what she found to help. A brilliant book that anybody who is affected by dementia should read. A must read.

I'm so pleased to have read this book. Wendy Mitchell writes beautifully about her early onset of dementia at age fifty-eight. It was heartbreaking as Wendy had always been a fiercely independent woman. She did all she could to help the medical profession, those with the disease and their caretakers understand more about Alzheimer's. "Somebody I used to Know" is well worth reading.

This was an extraordinary book, mainly because of the brave and talented Wendy Mitchell who wrote it openly and honestly sharing with us her life after receiving the news she was suffering with early onset Alzheimer's. I would recommend this book to anyone who needs inspiration.

Wendy Mitchell had a busy job in a non clinical role within the NHS. She raised her two daughters alone following their father leaving when they were young children. She was an active person running regularly and loving the great outdoors. Slowly a mist descended inside her mind. In 2014 at 58 years old Wendy is denied with early onset dementia/Alzheimer’s.
Wendy seeks to share the heartbreaking story of her decline and what techniques she adopted to manage it.
This was such a remarkable biography and Wendy Mitchell is an extraordinary individual. She is definitely a ‘glass three quarters way full’ kind of person who seeks to find her way round most situation to help herself She is also very giving towards supporting others.
I read and adored ’Still Alice’ by Lisa Genova but this book is unique in that it is the first hand account by a person with early onset dementia of what day to day looks like. Wendy has to live totally in the moment as her memory does not allow her to do otherwise. I loved her description of the memory compared to a bookcase. I was not aware that people with dementia kept their emotional feelings of situations and Wendy explains this in such a lovely way.
Wendy has had to adapt her life by moving home adapting her home timers going off all day to remind her and technology is her lifeline. She is able to travel the country to talk take part in research and she manages to negotiate this herself.
I take off my hat to Wendy I admire her strength and determination. This was a wonderful read and I highly recommend it.

Be Involved - the advice she received when hearing the news of her Alzheimer’s.

Wendy Mitchell courageously shares in this beautifully written account of her life with Alzheimer’s from its onset on 31st July 2014. One of her opening sentences is profoundly shocking for those of us who do not know; "And the worst thing was, just when I needed you most, you were gone". Wendy is talking about herself as a professional, self-sufficient, independent single mother of two daughters.

Wendy describes her Alzheimer's, allowing her feelings to come through deeply and compassionately for herself and others who share this life-changing disease. She tackles it clearly with the strength of character she has had all her life, Wendy says: "For a moment I have a strange feeling again as if Alzheimer's is a gift as if we could all learn something from the harsh lessons it teaches". And further: "I leave and head back to Yorkshire, putting the experience of the day down to another wonderful opportunity that has come my way thanks to the dementia diagnosis".

Wendy has many exciting experiences in this journey because she said YES to getting involved. She describes the documentary made about her daily life, the speaking engagements she is invited to and all the extra preparation that goes into being a part of Alzheimer’s awareness events.

I read this book with awe-inspired gratitude. Thank you, Wendy.

You can find Wendy on YouTube.
She is still writing

BonnieK

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

Wendy Mitchell, career woman and single mother was living her life to the full when she discovered that not all things were going so well. Diagnosed with early onset dementia comes as a shock, she feels let down by the system she has worked for so begins her own drive to go out and educate people about how dementia has a beginning and that life really does go on even with a diagnosis that seems frightening. Wendy through her great organisational skills tries to hold on to her life as she knows it for as long as she can, and then strategically makes changes when her mind doesn't let her. I really felt that Wendy brings hope to people who may be going through the same thing and letting them know it's not all doom and gloom.

Having family members diagnosed with dementia, I found this book informative and well written. It showed me how a diagnosis of this disease was not the end of a life but a new chapter in it. It made me think about how I interact with the people I know and how a person with dementia needs you to adjust for them. A brilliant, well written, at times sad, informative book I would recommend to anyone whose life this disease as touched

This book really touched my heart with Wendy's courageous and frank account of her experience of being diagnosed with Young Onset Dementia and then living with it. It is shocking to read about the lack of support for people at the start and on how society as a whole only really pictures people with this disease at their very weakest. Wendy has set out to challenge this and has succeeded.
This book should be given to anyone who has any contact with Dementia as it will change lives.

Wendy Mitchell was diagnosed with early onset dementia at the age of 58.
She wrote this book for others to get an insight and understanding into how the disease affects family and friends as well as the person with diagnosis.
A positive and practical account that will be invaluable for those wanting to know more .

An amazing book that welcomes outsiders into a very personal journey into Alzheimers. Wendy Mitchell describes her feelings and experiences in a way that anyone can appreciate what she is experiencing.
The best thing about this book is that she gives us insight into how we can be there for anyone going through the same frightening experiences. I found it incredibly helpful to understand why there is so much fear involved from both sides, be you a carer or sufferer of this heartbreaking disease.

This book was amazing and such an insight into the world of a person living with dementia. Helping raising the awareness. Thank you Wendy for putting into words your life. The courage and resilience coping with the losses and the uncertainty of the foggy times. The world with dementia is not one that was envisaged it steals the future that was dreamt of. A very powerful read and definitely one that really touched me

This book is well worth a read. I don't normally like memoirs, but this is different. Wendy was diagnosed with early onset dementia in her late 50s. She is determined to make her life as good as it possibly can be, and she becomes involved in work to raise awareness of the disease, and any research projects that are available. For me, her descriptions of her symptoms are extremely powerful, and gave an insight into what it must be like to live with this cruel illness. This is both a heart breaking and uplifting story which I thoroughly recommend as a must read. Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy.
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