Will I Still Be Me?

Christine Bryden was diagnosed with dementia in 1995, but her experiences do not reflect the mainstream discourse of loss of self while living with dementia. In this book she explains why people with dementia have a meaningful and continuing sense of self and calls for a different understanding of dementia that results in greater inclusion.

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What does a dementia diagnosis mean for an individual's sense of self? Christine Bryden shares her insider view on living with dementia and explains how a continuing sense of self is possible after diagnosis and as the condition develops.

Encouraging a deeper understanding of how individuals live meaningfully with dementia, the book challenges the dominant story of people with dementia 'fading away' to eventually become an 'empty shell'. It explores what it means to be an embodied self with feelings and emotions, how individuals can relate to others despite cognitive changes and challenges to communications, and what this means for the inclusion of people with dementia in society.