The Shift with Sam Baker Holly Dawson on facing permanent memory loss at 40
For many of us losing our memory is our worst nightmare. To be told that that is happening when you are still young (ish) is close to unimaginable. That’s what happened to this week’s guest, writer, teacher and reader in residence at Charleston, Holly Dawson.
Holly was just 40 when she started to lose her grasp of where she was. She was ultimately diagnosed with epilepsy. A scan of her brain revealed a benign tumour and Holly found herself faced with the prospect of losing both her memory and her words, which had always been her friend and were her main source of income
Holly set out to build a picture of herself while she still could - from childhood to womanhood, daughter, book worm, dancer, gardener, mother.
The result is her memoir, of sorts, All of Us Atoms.
Holly overcame her reluctance to talk about herself to discuss the moment she started to lose her words. How it felt to fail the memory test after a lifetime of never failing anything.The toxic myth of the straight line. Having her first natural period at 40. Her love of digging and chickens and mess. Why it took until her 40s to realise she doesn’t have to be good at everything and why she will not be giving up anything for love.
* You can buy all the books mentioned in this podcast at The Shift bookshop on Bookshop.org, including All Of Us Atoms by Holly Dawson as well as the book that inspired this podcast, The Shift: how I lost and found myself after 40 - and you can too, by me.
* If you enjoyed this episode and you fancy buying me a coffee, pop over to my page on buymeacoffee.com.
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