The Book Fairies were delighted to welcome Wendy Mitchell to join them in York, UK, where they hid copies of her book Somebody I Used To Know.
To mark Dementia Action Week, author Wendy Mitchell joined the book fairies to share her story of early-onset dementia, her life before and after the diagnosis, and her learnings from it – all featured in her book Somebody I Used To Know. Not only were book fairies around the UK hiding a total of TWO HUNDRED COPIES but also – we had the delight of meeting with Wendy and welcoming her as a Book Fairy For A Day in one of her local cities, the beautiful York.
Book dropping with Wendy Mitchell
After meeting Wendy at the station, the group of book fairies walked across the bridge to the York Museum Gardens to hide some books! We also took a live video on our worldwide instagram to tell everyone why we were sharing the books, and the importance of Dementia Action Week. Wendy was a fabulous book fairy, finding spots that we hadn’t thought of!
On her own blog, Wendy described the day as a ‘wonderful experience’ and she enjoyed seeing people finding the books and starting to read them! You can read her brilliant blog entry here.
And it wasn’t just limited to York!
Book Fairies up and down the UK joined in on the day to hide a total of 200 copies of Wendy’s beautiful book in public – do you recognise any of these spots?
About the book:
How do you build a life when all that you know is changing?How do you conceive of love when you can no longer recognise those who mean the most to you?A phenomenal memoir – the first of its kind – Somebody I Used to Know is both a heart-rending tribute to the woman Wendy Mitchell once was, and a brave affirmation of the woman dementia has seen her become.
Not lucky enough to find a copy? You can order your very own from our friends at Hive Books 🙂
About Dementia…
… Dementia describes a set of symptoms that may include memory loss and difficulties with thinking, problem-solving or language. These changes are often small to start with, but for someone with dementia they have become severe enough to affect daily life. A person with dementia may also experience changes in their mood or behaviour.
Dementia is caused when the brain is damaged by diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease or a series of strokes. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia, but not the only one. The specific symptoms that someone with dementia experiences will depend on the parts of the brain that are damaged and the disease that is causing the dementia.
About Book Fairy For A Day…
… Book Fairy For A Day when an author hides copies of their own book, stripping back the normal anonymity associated with book fairies, and proudly showing their face in photos and videos while hiding the books. In Wendy’s case, she had a team of book fairies helping her, suggesting possible hiding places, and of course most importantly – carrying the books!
About Dementia Action Week…
… Dementia Action Week is a week to spread awareness of this condition, to help people understand it and cope with a diagnosis should it happen to them or a member of their family. The Alzheimer’s Society has a new movement called ‘Dementia Friends’ – you can find out more and become a dementia friend here!
Are you an author?
If you’d like to be a ‘Book Fairy For A Day’ and hide copies of your novel, please get in touch (or better, ask your publisher to!) on bookfairyemail@gmail.com and we will see what we can do. It’s always guaranteed to be a fun day, and you’ll get real-time responses from people finding the books – as well as many who will approach you to ask what you’re doing hiding them!