© 2009
THE WOMAN WHO CAN’T FORGET
A Memoir
by Jill Price, with Bart Davis
Reviewed by Dorothy Black
Would you like to be able to remember all that has happened to you, with everything playing in your mind like an ever-running movie? Jill Price has “hyperthymestic syndrome”, and is the first person to have been diagnosed with it. Her book, describing her life with this intense, complicated condition, reveals that it might not be as desirable as we may think.
Jill can describe every day of her life since she was fourteen. Name a date, and she knows the day of the week it was, what she did that day, and details of its newsworthy events - in fact, whatever she was aware of that day, she can now describe in detail, including emotions, smells, colors and all else. Good events and experiences are recalled as well as bad ones, - they are unstoppable, running through her head without end. Jill eventually realized that her memory was different than anyone else’s. Whereas others forget easily and frequently, she could not. However, she was like other people when it came to remembering things she needed to recall in school, and was not a particularly good student!
As she grew up, Jill was buffeted by her unique syndrome and struggled to deal with this condition that nobody else understood. Finally, she found professional help and understanding, and became an involved and very important research subject. Why do others forget so much, while Jill forgets nothing? Imagine what a gem she could be in the courtroom with the “you did, I did” accusations flying! Ask Jill, and if she was a witness there would be no contention!
Not only are scientists interested in what Jill can show them about remembering, they are able to gain insight into other aspects such as forgetting, what normal human memory is, and the intricacies of memory loss as might be experienced by the elderly, the injured, and those with various medical conditions. And there are cases where people cannot forget what they desperately need to forget - traumatic events they have witnessed, perhaps, or the dreadful scenes of war.
Jill found growing up difficult, especially as she was misunderstood and also did not get along well with her mother. She married eventually, to a man with two sons. However, her happiness was cut short just about three years later, when her husband died quite suddenly. Her comfort has been her involvement in the scientific world, where she hopes she can contribute significantly to opening up the intricacies of memory and thus improve life for many who struggle with memory problems.
This is a book which is hard to put down, especially if you are interested in some of the many mysteries in fields such as psychology and mental health. One has to admire Jill, who had such unique challenges but persevered and finally found her niche.
THE WOMAN WHO CAN’T FORGET
By Jill Price with Bart Davis
Copyright 2008, Simon & Shuster, Inc.
ISBN-13: 978-1-41656176-7
ISBN-10 1-4165-6176-5
263 pages