Books written by people living with young onset dementia

The Lupo Stick byValerie Blumenthal 

Set on a small island off Sicily in the late 1950s and in contemporary Oxford, this Italian epic is a tale of identity, family secrets and mystery. Above all, it is a love story. The novel is narrated by Graziella Lupos’s daughter Rosa when Graziella has just been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. The book’s author Valerie Blumenthal is living with Posterior Cortical Atrophy.

Talking sense: living with sensory changes and dementia by Agnes Houston MBE and Julie Christie 

Agnes was diagnosed with young onset dementia in 2006 and discovered there was very little awareness of the sensory changes dementia caused her to experience. She undertook a decade of research into the subject which has culminated in this book.

On Pluto: inside the mind of Alzheimer’s by Greg O’Brien 

A book about living with Alzheimer’s disease, not dying with it. It is a book about hope, faith, and humour.  Greg O’Brien, an award-winning investigative reporter, has been diagnosed with young onset Alzheimer’s disease. Acting on long-term memory and skill coupled with his well-developed journalistic grit, O’Brien decided to tackle his imminent decline by writing frankly about the journey. This book is both a ‘how to’ for fighting a disease, and a ‘how not’ to give up!

To forget with grace by Jacqui Peedell and Jo Davies  

A collection of poems by Jacqui who is living with young onset dementia. This book is a re-telling of her story as a series of illustrated poems: her story with its vibrant background, its bravery, and her never-failing pragmatism in the face of life’s ups and downs.

I am still me by Tracey Shorthouse 

I am still me is a collection of poems written as a way to encourage people that even though someone has a condition, they can still do things. Tracey was diagnosed with young onset dementia in her 40s and although there are some poems about dementia, the book doesn’t focus on it. There are a wide variety of poems pertaining to life, nature, and stories within a poem.   

Welcome to our world by Various authors 

A collection of life writing by people living with dementia, five out of eight of whom are living with young onset dementia.