Can You Be Friends With Someone Who Can't Remember You?

Welcome to the latest episode of the Fighting Dementia Podcast. Peter Berry was diagnosed with young onset dementia at 50, and nearly 12 years on he's still riding his penny farthing. Peter and his friend and co-author Deb Bunt are back to catch up with Fran and Leon about their new book, Patching the Puncture: Continuing to Live Well with Dementia, the follow-up to Slow Puncture. Peter explains why putting it on paper matters to him: the tide of dementia can't wash the words away. Deb talks about accepting that Peter probably won't remember most of what they do together, and changing her own behaviour so they keep doing it anyway. Peter also talks about keeping his diagnosis quiet for years because he worried people would treat him differently, and why he's now happy to wear his "dementia coat" in public. Fran explains why she wants people to know about her diagnosis, and tells them about a dementia game for children and families she came across at Liverpool John Moores University. Plus Peter's rule for brain health (look after everything from the eyebrows down) and the day he rode 100 miles on a penny farthing. Resources & Further Reading: Peter and Deb's books: https://www.peter-berry.com/the-books Patching the Puncture on Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1835743811 Slow Puncture on Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1913208931 Meditation & Dementia Research: https://news.med.miami.edu/worried-about-alzheimers-meditate-and-mingle-study-says/ https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/a-subtle-impact/202506/meditation-could-reverse-brain-aging SURF (Service Users Reference Forum): https://surfdementia.org Alzheimer's Society: https://www.alzheimers.org.uk Carers UK: https://www.carersuk.org Reddit r/dementia: https://www.reddit.com/r/dementia/ UK Power of Attorney: https://www.gov.uk/power-of-attorney Chapters 00:00 Welcome to the Fighting Dementia Podcast 00:29 Peter and Deb are back 01:09 The last nine months and the new book 03:16 Why they wrote Patching the Puncture 04:45 The title and the penny farthing cover 05:45 Audiobooks and books in other languages 08:13 Accepting Peter won't remember, and adapting 09:52 Being treated differently because you forget 11:27 Friendship when one of you can't remember 12:13 Fran on being open about her diagnosis 14:10 A dementia game for children at LJMU 15:37 Peter's "dementia coat" 18:16 Diet, exercise and staying active 20:14 How dementia changed Fran's life 21:55 100 miles on a penny farthing 22:57 Hope, and saying goodbye