WENDY Mitchell managed rosters for hundreds of nurses in England's National Health Service, single-handedly raised her daughters and spent her weekends running and climbing mountains.
Then slowly, what she found at the top of those peaks was not clear, unencumbered views, but a mist that had settled deep inside the mind she once knew so well.
She didn't know it then, but dementia was starting to take hold.
In 2014, at the age of 58, she was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's.
Forced into early retirement, Wendy discovered a chronic lack of understanding about the diagnosis. But she was determined to outwit it for as long as she could.
She continues to live independently, surrounded by yellow post-it notes to remind her of routines and a memory room where she displays photos and labels of her daughters and friends.
And her sunny outlook persists.
Somebody I Used to Know is a book about holding on to what is most important in life. It will provide hope for those living with dementia and insight for those supporting others with the diagnosis.
It chronicles the cruel way Alzheimer's dissembles a life, as well as the surprising ways it heightens the everyday.
- Somebody I Used to Know, by Wendy Mitchell (Bloomsbury) RRP $24.99.
