Wendy Mitchell

Anna Wharton

What do you lose when your memories begin to disappear? What do you value when this reframes how you've lived, and how you will live in the future? How do you conceive of love when you can no longer recognise those who are supposed to mean the most to you? When she was diagnosed with dementia at the age of fifty-eight, Wendy Mitchell was confronted with the most profound questions about life and identity. Her demanding career in the NHS; her ability to drive, cook and run - the various shades of her independence - were suddenly gone. SOMEBODY I USED TO KNOW is both a heart-rending tribute to the woman Wendy once was, and a brave affirmation of the woman dementia has seen her become.

Somebody I Used to Know

“A brave and illuminating journey inside the mind, heart, and life of a person with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease.”—Lisa Genova, author of Still Alice Wendy Mitchell had a busy job with the British National Health Service, 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. In this groundbreaking book, 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. As Mitchell learned to embrace her new life, she began to see her condition as a gift, a chance to experience the world with fresh eyes and to find her own way to make a difference. Even now, her sunny outlook persists: She devotes her time to educating doctors, caregivers, and other people living with dementia, helping to reduce the stigma surrounding this insidious disease. Still living independently, Mitchell now uses Post-it notes and technology to remind her of her routines and has created a “memory room” where she displays photos—with labels—of her daughters, friends, and special places. It is a room where she feels calm and happy, especially on days when the mist descends. A chronicle of one woman’s struggle to make sense of her shifting world and her mortality, Somebody I Used to Know offers a powerful rumination on memory, perception, and the simple pleasure of living in the moment. Philosophical, poetic, intensely personal, and ultimately hopeful, this moving memoir is both a tribute to the woman Wendy Mitchell used to be and a brave affirmation of the woman she has become. Praise for Somebody I Used to Know “Remarkable . . . Mitchell gives such clear-eyed insight that anyone who knows a person living with dementia should read this book.”—The Times (London) “A landmark book . . . The best reward for [Mitchell’s] courage and candour would surely be fundamental changes in the way people with dementia are treated by society.”—Financial Times

A Memoir

Grace Emilia Machon

I wish I had read this book 5 years ago. This book makes me want to be kinder. It makes me want to call people and say “hello, it’s grace how are you?”
It makes me want to write to my nanny who is 96 and dementia has a hold on and say just anything that will make her smile. 

Wendy Mitchell is an amazing women and this book is so beautifully written

When Wendy Mitchell was diagnosed with dementia, she had to say goodbye to the woman she once was. In this phenomenal memoir, Wendy grapples with questions most of us have never had to consider. Philosophical, intensely personal and ultimately hopeful, Somebody I Used to Know gets to the very heart of what it means to be human.

Somebody I Used to Know

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