One Last Thing

WATERSTONES’ BEST BOOKS OF 2023: BIOGRAPHY
The last book from bestselling author and advocate Wendy Mitchell
‘This beautiful book will give hope and courage to many people. An uplifting and courageous read’ KATHRYN MANNIX
‘Anyone who reads Mitchell’s work can only admire her passion, her energy and her extraordinary courage’ SUNDAY TIMES

Wendy Mitchell doesn’t fear anything anymore. After her diagnosis of young-onset dementia in 2014, all of Wendy’s old fears – the dark, animals – melted away. What more was there to be afraid of when she faced her worst fear: losing her own mind?

While living with her diagnosis and facing the extreme changes that come along with a progressive terminal illness, Wendy wrote two Sunday Times-bestselling books, went skydiving for the first time and supports multiple dementia advocacy groups in the UK. She is known for talking about living with dementia, but now – while she is still able to – she explores dying with it.

In One Last Thing, Wendy embarks on a journey to explore all angles of death: how we can prepare for it, how we talk about it with our loved ones and how we can be empowered to make our own choices. With conversations on the topic of assisted dying, from those who are fighting to make it legal to those vehemently opposed to its practice, Wendy reminds us that to get on with the business of living, we need to talk about death.

Author Biography

Wendy Mitchell spent twenty years as a non-clinical team leader in the NHS before being diagnosed with young-onset dementia in July 2014 at the age of fifty-eight. Shocked by the lack of awareness about the disease, both in the community and in hospitals, she vowed to spend her time raising awareness about dementia and encouraging others to see that there is life after a diagnosis. In 2019 she was awarded an honorary Doctor of Health by the University of Bradford for her contribution to research. She has two daughters and lives in Yorkshire.