Forever Today - Hardcover

Deborah Wearing

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0385606265 ISBN 13: 9780385606264

Publisher: Doubleday, 2005

Synopsis

Clive Wearing is one of the most famous, extreme cases of amnesia ever known. In 1985, a virus completely destroyed the memory part of his brain, leaving him trapped in a limbo of the constant present. Since then, every conscious moment is for him as if he has just woken from a ten-year coma, repeated in an endless loop. A brilliant conductor and BBC music producer, Clive was at the height of his success when the illness struck. For seven years he was kept in the general ward in the London hospital where the ambulance first dropped him off, because there was nowhere else for him to go. His wife Deborah campaigned for better conditions, hopelessly searched for a cure, and, in her quest to find answers, founded a national charity. As damaged as Clive was, the musical part of his brain was unaffected, as was his passionate love for Deborah. Finding there no way to bring Clive back home, Deborah eventually listened to the friends who counselled her to get away, and she fled to America to start her life again. She initiated a divorce, fell for other men, but found it difficult to forget her love for Clive. Then, miraculously, in their transatlantic phonecalls she noticed Clive starting to recover some of his memory, and she was pulled back to England. Today, although he still lives in care, they are closer than ever, and they renewed their marriage vows in 2002. This is the story of an extreme medical condition that is a reminder of what it is to be human. It is also a woman's quest to understand, control, and escape from a nightmare. It is also insight into a bond that runs deeper than conscious thought, a love overcoming the most tragic handicap.

About this title

From the Inside Flap

The man who lost his memory: the story of an English musician crippled by total amnesia, and the wife who tried to find a cure, then ran away to start her life over, and finally came back to him.

Clive Wearing is one of the most famous, extreme cases of amnesia ever known. In 1985, while at the height of his success as a conductor and BBC music producer, a virus completely destroyed the memory part of his brain, leaving him trapped in a limbo of the constant present where every conscious moment was as if he had just woken from a ten-year coma. For seven years he was kept in the general ward of a London hospital while his wife Deborah campaigned for better conditions and searched hopelessly for a cure. As damaged as Clive was, the musical part of his brain was unaffected, as was his passionate love for Deborah.

Finding there was no way to bring Clive back, Deborah eventually fled to America to start her life again. Then, miraculously, in their transatlantic phone calls she noticed Clive starting to recover some of his memory, and she was pulled back to England. Today, although he still lives in care, they are closer than ever.

This is the story of an extreme condition that is a reminder of what it means to be human. It is also a woman?s quest to understand, control, and escape from a nightmare. Finally, it is insight into a bond that runs deeper than conscious thought, a love overcoming the most tragic handicap.

About the Author

Deborah Wearing is a former head of PR at the John Lewis Partnership. She campaigned for ten years for special medical services for brain injury patients and founded a national charity, the Amnesia Association. She now combines writing with working as an administrator for the NHS.

Edition details

• Publisher: Doubleday
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0385606265
• ISBN 13: 9780385606264
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 352