Forever Today: A Memoir of Love and Amnesia

by Deborah Wearing (Author)

• Used

  Hardcover
  2005

  $4.25

  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.

• Used

  Paperback
  2004

  $3.29

  A brilliant conductor and BBC music producer, Clive Wearing was at the height of his success when illness struck. A virus completely destroyed the memory part of his brain. For seven years he was kept in the general ward of London hospital where the ambulance dropped him because there was no where else for him.

• New

  paperback
  

  $12.52

  Clive Wearing has one of the most extreme cases of amnesia ever known. In 1985, a virus completely destroyed a part of his brain essential for memory, leaving him trapped in a limbo of the constant present. Every conscious moment is for him as if he has just come round from a long coma, an endlessly repeating loop of awakening. A brilliant conductor and BBC music producer, Clive was at the height of his success when the illness struck. As damaged as Clive was, the musical part of his brain seemed unaffected, as was his passionate love for Deborah, his wife. For seven years he was kept in the London hospital where the ambulance first dropped him off, because there was nowhere else for him to go. Deborah desperately searched for treatments and campaigned for better care. After Clive was finally established in a new special hospital, she fled to America to start her life over again. But she found she could never love another the way she loved Clive. Then Clive's memory unaccountably began to improve, ten years after the illness first struck. She returned to England. Today, although Clive still lives in care, and still has the worst case of amnesia in the world, he continues to improve. They renewed their marriage vows in 2002. This is the story of a life lived outside time, a story that questions and redefines the essence of what it means to be human. It is also the story of a marriage, of a bond that runs deeper than conscious thought.