Lost and Found: Why Losing Our Memories Doesn't Mean Losing Ourselves

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This will be the definitive book for our times about how we are affected by Alzheimer's, Dementia, Amnesia and other brain disorders that affect memory and, ultimately, identity. The subject has found its ideal author in Jules Montague, a leading British neurologist and science writer, whose writing combines scientific expertise, profound humanity and spellbinding storytelling.

LOST AND FOUND began when Jules's close friend, Anna, asked her a question.

Anna's mother had developed a brain tumour, diagnosed as late-stage. It had started with headaches but got worse. Eventually she was seeing double and hearing voices.

Her mother, Anna explained, had started telling Anna she loved her, repeatedly. She had never done this before; never been demonstratively affectionate.

The question Anna asked Jules was: was it really her mother talking Was it part of her personality Or was it an effect of the tumour on her brain How do we disentangle these interpretations Are they mutually incompatible Might a neuropathological change make someone more, rather than less, themselves

In this book, through a series of stories, case studies and descriptions of neuroscience at the cutting edge, Jules will examine personal identity; what it is, how we lose it, to age, amnesia, dementia, Alzheimers; to what degree we remain the same people throughout our lives, how and why we change.

An unforgettable book about what makes us who we are, LOST AND FOUND could not be more timely, more important, more exciting or more essential.

Reviews

This is a book for anyone wanting to understand the human brain and personhood; it is a book for anyone with a loved one with dementia and for those of us who fear dementia . . . Montague takes the reader on an exquisite journey into the human brain and beyond that, to the metaphysics of personhood . . . Occasionally we come across a physicist or economist who, despite their subject matter, can stop you in your tracks. They reel you in without you realising. Montague is a neurologist who does exactly that. She has a rare gift: she makes her craft look simple . . . Throughout this book Montague displays a maturity and wisdom not always observed in clinicians or indeed any other kind of human. * Irish Times *
A profoundly moving, revelatory book... Like the late Oliver Sacks, Jules Montague writes about bizarre cases. ...And yet, she is also writing about what it is to be human and the surprising fragility of our sense of self.' * Daily Mail *
Beautifully written . . . a great book. -- Suzanne O'Sullivan, author of It's All in Your Head, winner of the 2016 Wellcome Book Prize
Mind-blowing . . . riveting. * Irish Country Magazine *

Author Bio

Jules Montague (http://www.theguardian.com/profile/jules-montague) is a consultant neurologist at The Royal Free hospital in London, as well as a writer for The Guardian. Her clinical specialisation is early-onset dementia and other neurodegenerative diseases. She works with patients who are losing their identities to dementia, amnesia, Alzheimer's and brain injury.