Somebody I Used to Know

April 1, 2018
How a woman's diagnosis of early-onset Alzheimer's changed her life.It crept up on Mitchell gradually as a general feeling of tiredness and a fuzziness to her thinking, then one day, she fell, and a few weeks later, fell again, her coordination definitely off. Cognitive tests revealed the diagnosis of early-onset Alzheimer's, and Mitchell felt her world slowly slide away in forgotten bits and pieces. In this moving, well-written memoir, Mitchell relates how her life inevitably changed; she went from a person whose work required her to remember tremendous amounts of information to someone who didn't understand the computer system she had navigated so easily; she needed to leave herself reminders on her phone and notes on the floor to eat and take her medications; she no longer dared drive and felt anxious riding the bus or walking in unknown neighborhoods. Yet, once she was forced to retire, her life was still full; she reached out to others with the same diagnosis, gave talks on the topic, and engaged in research projects that might help someone in the future. Mitchell's sharing of the personal details of her mental decline helps readers thoroughly understand the scariness and confusion that Alzheimer's patients go through as they gradually lose the ability to take care of themselves and perform daily tasks that used to be done by rote. She triumphantly shows methods she used to help overcome some of her setbacks so she could continue to live independently, offering others with this disease examples of what can be done. The journey continues to grow harder, but Mitchell obviously refuses to give up, as evidenced by her writing this poignant statement of her life after the diagnosis.A sensitive, affective, and moving chronicle of how a woman with Alzheimer's has refused to let the disease completely rule her life.

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Starred review from May 15, 2018
The vacant stare in Julianne Moore's eyes was just right for someone with dementia, Mitchell told the actress after watching Still Alice. Mitchell had been invited to the premiere of the movie in London because of her participation in the Alzheimer's Society, which she joined after she was diagnosed with early-onset dementia at the age of 58. In this powerful memoir, she describes the progression of the disease as it begins to steal away her identity, making her into a person she does not recognize. As time passes, the gulf widens considerably between the woman she becomes, unable to cook for herself or identify familiar faces, and the woman she once was, a driven single mom who was renowned at work for her remarkable memory. By writing to her prediagnosis self as if she were a completely different person, Mitchell beautifully illustrates just how much of a person's identity can be stolen by dementia. But she does not accept her new limitations quietly, instead volunteering to participate in research and speaking at conferences to increase understanding of the disease. She even finds comfort in the way she must now live in the present moment. Somebody I Used to Know is both an indispensable guide for people grappling with the consequences of a dementia diagnosis and a stirring account of courage in the face of devastating loss.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)

Starred review from July 1, 2018

Mitchell, who worked for 20 years at Britain's National Health Service (NHS), possessed enviable memory and organizational skills until at 58 she began to notice a fuzziness in her brain, eventually receiving a diagnosis of early onset dementia. Through her eye-opening tale of life after that initial diagnosis, readers learn how she reconciled herself to the diagnosis, and how she copes and succeeds. Even as she's charted her struggles with the various stages of the disease, she's found ways to see it as a "gift" and to share what she's learned with others who may feel alone or in need of assistance with medical research. According to Mitchell, there are many ways to identify dementia, and as she opens up more about it, she helps readers better understand that world. Having raised two daughters on her own, the author is fierce and independent and will not let the disease "steal her memories." VERDICT This memoir will open readers' eyes to the struggles and successes of those diagnosed with dementia as well as provide insight for their caregivers. [See Prepub Alert, 1/8/18.]--Amy Lewontin, Northeastern Univ. Lib., Boston

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2018

Diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in her late fifties, Mitchell retired nine months later as an administrator for the British National Health Service and has since been writing the much-followed blog "Which Me Am I Today?" Here she explains what it's like to live with dementia and how she regards it as a way to look at the world anew.

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.