Get your Signed copy today! Have You Seen My ...ummm..Memory? Richard Fitt Category:  Self-Help Publisher: Authorsonline.co.uk ISBN-10:  0755201469 Pages: 63 Copyright: Nov 2004 A delightful concoction of self-help tips for those of all ages suffering from occasional or regular memory lapses. The author's personal medical history is bound together by a fascinating and rib-tickling insight into the strengths and weaknesses of the human memory. An ideal companion when the memory begins to slip. PS Check out my Memory Poetry too. Chapter 10 FINAL THOUGHTS. Extinctus amabitur idem. How quickly we forget.Much of the advice of the last few chapters is self- explanatory. You may be using many of these solutions already. You may be using other means not mentioned to get round your memory problems. In any case, what suits you best is what is welcomed. Remember all of us have lapses from time to time and you don’t have to own up to them on every occasion. As we all have had an experience of memory loss and can identify with each sufferer, we quickly forget the matter that has been causing frustration. Being economical with the truth became an expedient way to avoid political embarrassment in recent years and so a precedent was set. There are times when we need not own up to the method we are using. I give you the following example.Thirty-three years ago I was sent by Camp America to a boys’ holiday camp in Massachusetts. There was an American student there who played a twelve-stringed guitar and had a beautiful singing voice. He wrote his own songs. I had often wondered what became of him. Then this summer I heard from one of his colleagues who now works as a consultant psychologist in Vermont, USA. He had found my e-mail address under Operation Oboe in a Google search. I asked him if he ever heard from Dave Hort. He replied that he was now a professional singer and at his website I could listen to his music. He told me his musical name was now David Benrexi. I looked him up under that name and found how to contact him and listened to forty of his recorded songs. (www.MyDaddyLovesMe.org). We began to correspond. Then I asked how his brother Gary was keeping. He was thrilled to know I had remembered his brother’s name especially as he was not at the campsite at Camp Onota all these years ago. What he did not know was that I had written down the words of one of his compositions in 1972 and have been playing this song from time to time. In the early seventies David like so many others of his age was waiting to hear if he had drawn a high or low draft number which would determine whether he was going to war in Vietnam. It made that generation of camp councillors keen to cast off youthfulness prematurely and become fighters or exiles. He wrote a song in that context called ‘I don’t want to be your shadow anymore.’ The chorus below, is followed by the first verse.‘I don’t want to be your shadow anymoreI just want to stand in the light for a while;I won’t wait around, looking for your frownWhen a smile would better suit my style. “’Twas my brother Gary, told me life is a bitch, And there ain’t no sense in being poor, just to spite the rich, If you never can be satisfied, tell me why even bother, Be yourself don’t hide your faceBehind the dead dreams of your father.” So it was in his song that I had remembered his brother’s name, although thirty-three years had passed and I had never met Gary. In taking you along my own path to resolve memory problems I must stress that I am not medically trained. That does not prevent me commenting, as the report from the British Journal of General Practice states, ‘ there is a general lack of communication between doctors and patients about herbal remedies. Current software used by GPs to compile patient records does not include a facility to record data on alternative medications.’ It is estimated that at least 12 million Britons regularly use herbal remedies. My own Gingko Biloba and Ginseng combination and aspirin prescriptions were prescribed by my psychiatrist. My general practitioner was initially unaware of this prescription. I urge you to consult your General Practitioner before you start on any course of herbal treatment in conjunction with any prescribed medication. We owe it to our medical advisers to inform them just what we are taking. I conclude this book with a tale. No, not an elephant tale just yet. Instead let me tell you of the experience of a good friend Stuart and his wife Joyce who were returning home last winter through the beautiful rural countryside of south-west Scotland to their home at dusk when suddenly their car hit a young deer on a sharp bend. Stuart got out of his vehicle and found the animal lying in front of the car lights motionless, but still alive. He went to the boot of his car and took out his snow spade. He prepared with sorrow to deliver a merciful blow to take the poor unfortunate animal out of its agony. A mercy killing was required. He returned to the scene and stood at the front of the car, over the deer. He raised the spade above his head and summoned up the necessary force to dispatch the beast with hopefully no more than one fatal blow. On seeing the intent in his eyes and the spade above his shoulders, the young deer came to his senses and before anyone could say ‘Jack Robinson’, it found its feet and darted at speed into the undergrowth nearby! It just shows you that given a moments rest, our minds sometime return in time to take appropriate action!I hope it is that way for you too. Good luck. If you wish to contact me or have me send a signed copy of this book to a friend, please provide your full details to me at the following e-mail address, or to ‘Netherholm’, Edinburgh Road, Dumfries, DG1 1JX Scotland. mhcaldwell.btopenworld.com  You are most welcome to Visit: www.millercaldwell.org ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The author is greatly indebted to general practitioner Dr R Sabur and Nurse Helen Bryden, occupational health physician Dr C Jamieson, consultant psychiatrist Dr D. Hall and consultant clinical neuropsychologist Dr J Moore, all of Dumfries. They have brought me through my illness to a greater understanding of the mind and given me encouragement to live life to the full.Professor Narinder Kapur, formerly at the Department of Neuropsychology, University of Southampton and now at Addenbrookes hospital, Cambridge, gave permission for me to quote extensively from his booklet “Managing your Memory.” Dr Olwen Wilson, consultant psychologist and long time friend, gave constructive criticism of the draft copy. My profound thanks go to both these distinguished psychologists.Thanks to Alan, Margaret, Joyce, Stuart, Sean, Rachel, Jocelyn, Fred, Joy, Katrina and Kim – The Kirkpatrick Durham badminton team. I leave them wondering whether my shots stem from the mind or the body. And special additional thanks go to Joyce for her graphic artwork on the cover of this book as well as her work on Operation Oboe.Remembering Richard and Wendy at Authorsonline.co.uk Adam of Research International, Bernard and Rosemary at Kleeneze and the production teams of Fifteen-to-One and the Weakest Link, all eager to assist. Thanks too to Derek Coates of Healthspan for permission to quote from the Healthspan booklet. To Hans and Jutta in Germany, Peter and Elaine in Lancashire, Duke, Betty and Julie in Ghana. To Tom and Abbey, John and Huerta and all the four-legged friends I meet regularly with Tache. Because, like Mr. Dibdin,……In every mess, I find a friend. Charles Dibdin 1745-1814

Professional Reviews
Wendy Anne Lake - Novelist
A bevy of excellent tips and advice is contained in this book.
We knew Miller Caldwell was a remarkable author, but he has now shown us a more than remarkable MAN.

Finding himself in the middle of such a dreadful condition, he has managed to deal with it in admirable fashion and even thought of the other poor victims. I know he has a wonderful family around him, but to share such a condition is so very thoughtful and downright selfless.

Do pick up a copy of this amazing story, peppered with a strong sense of humour, there is something for everyone whether suffering with this condition, or indeed any set of symptoms alien to everyday life. A story to help and humble and thank God for our own memories.

Wendy Anne Lake


The Standard 29th July 2005
OFF THE SHELF – REVIEW
Have You Seen My…ummm…Memory?

The Standard 29th July 2005-07-29 by JH

Everyone has had the frustrating experience of putting something down and then forgetting where.
Although there are many factors that contribute to the ability to remember; it is also a simple fact that some people are better at remembering than others.
Outside influences like stress, hormone problems, or even the side –effects of medications can make people absent-minded and forgetful.
But what if your memory is simply getting progressively worse? Are you frequently embarrassed at not being able to remember someone’s name? Have you ever driven away from a petrol station and genuinely forgotten to pay? Are these episodes of memory loss driving you to despair?
If so, then this book by Miller Caldwell is not only going to amuse and entertain you, but it will provide you with many serious tips and self-help exercises that will help you train your brain all over again!
Mr Caldwell begins by explaining his own diagnosed condition called mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and the frustration he felt at having to retire early because of short-term memory loss.
He explains in simple terms how the human brain processes our thoughts and then stores them in preparation for recall.
He explains how in most people, sharp thinking and reasoning skills are unaffected by short-term memory decline and suggests that, if an older person learns information in the right way, he or she is just as likely to remember it as a younger counterpart.
Each helpful tip and suggested exercise comes with an anecdote from Caldwell's many varied and fascinating life experiences, including how he almost married the wrong woman!
Presented in a delightful and straightforward format, this book will be an invaluable companion to those of us who are just a little bit forgetful or, equally, to those in the early stages of dementia.
Oh, and just in case you forget, the charming cover illustration of an elephant with a knot in its trunk will remind you to pick up a copy of your own.

Published by AuthorsOnline.co.uk

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