Customer Reviews

Forever Today: A True Story of Lost Memory and Never-Ending Love

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This is the most awe-inspiring book I have ever read. The story of an unbelievable tragedy which struck down the career of a brilliant man, musician/conductor, husband (Clive Wearing) into a life of the severest amnesia ever known. Through this book, written by his wife Deborah, we see a wonderfully, caring, and courageous young woman who loves, cares for and nurtures Clive in the hellish existence which has become their life. She does this for the man she dearly loves and who loves her in return (they are truly "one".) Only when the book is ending, after Deborah has sought solace and answers from a long way from home, does she find what she has been seeking; the ultimate help with which to continue her life with the only man she truly loves. No-one should ever have to go through anything as dreadful as this.....yet without going through this pain, tragedy and loneliness endured by both Clive and Deborah - in different ways, we are privy to the old adage that "Love conquers all". A very personal insight into their lives - a privilege to read, an inspiration to all.

Deborah Wearing was married to Clive just 18 months when he was struck with viral encephalitis, which destroyed large portions of his brain including his hippocampus. Ever since then, Clive has been unable to make any new memories. Every day, every hour -- every few minutes -- he finds himself waking anew for the first time ever.

Two things he knows: 1) something terrible has happened to him (because he has a black hole where his memory should be) and 2) he loves his wife Deborah.

Every time he sees her, he thinks it's the first time in a long time. Even if it's only been a couple of minutes....

Deborah's heartbreaking story is told with intelligence and admirable strength, as she navigates the unfamiliar shoals of dealing with catastrophic brain injury, a National Health Service unprepared to deal with healthy-but-dependent patients, her own frustration with Clive's 7-second attention span, and the guilt of leaving him with caregivers. She's a remarkably persistent woman to have accomplished all that she has for ABI (acquired brain injury) patients while simultaneously nurturing one of her own.

Clive was an accomplished musician and conductor before the injury (working with among others John Taverner and Michael Nyman), and his musical abilities are oddly untouched by his amnesia. Stories of him sight-reading scores, playing the piano or conducting his choral group send shivers up the spine.

As a former publicist Deborah's writing is fluid, engaging and moving, making this book difficult to interrupt. She rarely indulges in maudlin self-pity, although she would have every right. Clive's story has been filmed at least twice, and featured in two Oliver Sacks books, and from that evidence Deborah if anything understates the tragedy of her situation.

In the last chapter she describes turning to religion for solace, and one can't help but draw parallels between these two anchors in her life.

A fascinating fascinating book.

'Forever Today' is a memoir by Deborah Wearing, the devoted wife of Clive Wearing, a highly intelligent and accomplished musician and conductor whose brain was half eaten away by a virus, causing him to have the worst case of amnesia then known - lasting only a few seconds at a time. He remembered who he was, his history until a few years before the devastating infection, and his immense love for his wife. Like most dense amnesiacs, he retained no ability to make new memories, but fascinatingly was able to function almost normally when conducting familiar music.

It's not just his story, but also a story of her love, which is remarkable and touching for its perseverance and depth. And it's a story about the British medical and insurance system, and how Mrs. Wearing helped change the landscape and care for Britons with ABI (Acquired Brain Injury).

I thought the last third got a bit scattered and tangential, and needed a good editor. But in any case, like many books on dementia and memory loss that I've read, FT is both wrenching and inspiring in showing how the families of those affected learn to accept and find joy in ever smaller successes.

Featured in a chapter of Oliver Sacks' book: Musociphillia (also superb), Clive Wearing, British conductor, music producer and musicologist specializing in the Reniassance -- especially the works of Orlando Lazus -- won the nightmare lottery and completely LOST the whole area of his brain where all powers of memory are exclusively located in late March, 1985! Having just married his longtime POSSLQ, he lucked out for real in the only way such a person can: his woman has stuck by him ever since. In this riveting, bittersweet memoir, that woman evokes their painful journey in a compassionate, insightful and ultimately uplifting way which will get you thinking about life, love and identity in completely new ways, expanding what you think it even MEANS to be a living, loving person. With hardly enough memory to finish your own sentences, could you keep your sanity, your family? Remarkably, the two things Clive has always been able to remember over the past quarter century are his music and the love of his life. After the new millennium, he has even been able to lay down a few memories of the world around him, despite having no hipicampi AT ALL. His story will be of interest to romantics, musicophilles and brain/mind people -- as well as to anyone who has ever wondered what life would be like with no past. GET THIS, no matter what it costs!! You won't be able to put it down until you're completely finished. And you'll actually be a better person for having read it, a rare claim to be able to make about a book. ENJOY

A quick read but a lasting impression left after finishing this book. Truly remarkable story of life, the patience of love and how truly amazing the human brain is. I highly recommend this book.

Imagine one day your husband falls sick with the flu. The next day is his incoherent and delusional. You rush him to the hospital, only to discover that a virus has completely destroyed the memory part of his brain. He is trapped, every conscious moment feels as if he has just woken from a coma, an awakening he repeats every few seconds.

Clive Wearing is one of the most extreme cases of amnesia ever known. A brilliant conductor and music producer, he was at the height of success when his memory was taken from him. Written by his wife, this is a story of love and endurance through the most stressful, disastrous situation one can imagine.

Well-written, this is an engaging look into amnesia, and how it can reshape and change one's life. Ultimately a story of survival, Deborah is a strong-willed determined woman, one whose life is turned upside down by the unexpected. I highly enjoyed this story, and immediately turned to Google to learn more.

After reading about this book's subject in Oliver Sacks' "Musicophilia," I ordered this book. It's an inspiring, well-written true story of a gifted musician who, after a serious case of encephalitis, loses his memory and all ability to form memories. Written by his wife, it's an interesting medical case and a wonderful love story. I highly recommend it.