Wendy Mitchell: Acclaimed author who detailed experience of dementia announces her own death

Published

2 years ago

February 23, 2024

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A best-selling author who detailed her experience with dementia has announced her own death in a posthumous blog post.

Wendy Mitchell, 68, authored acclaimed books on her condition after she was diagnosed with early-onset vascular dementia and Alzheimer’s in July 2014, at the age of 58.

“If you’re reading this, it means this has probably been posted by my daughters as I’ve sadly died,” she wrote in her final blog post.

“Sorry to break the news to you this way, but if I hadn’t, my inbox would eventually have been full of emails asking if I’m OK, which would have been hard for my daughters to answer…

“In the end, I died simply by deciding not to eat or drink anymore.”

At the time of her diagnosis, Ms Mitchell, from East Yorkshire, was working as an NHS rota manager, having also brought up two daughters as a single mother.

She began to become concerned about her health when her “encyclopaedic memory” began to fail her.

“I’d forget the simplest of words, or the names of people I’d worked with forever,” she told the charity Dementia UK in a 2019 interview.

Ms Mitchell said at one point before her diagnosis she turned around to see her name at the entrance to her office and forgot it was hers.

She also was a keen runner who would regularly go jogging beside the River Ouse.

“Things just weren’t right, and then when I was out running, my legs and my brain weren’t talking to one another and I’d end up falling flat on my face,” she said.

“I knew that something wasn’t right.”

After 18 months of tests and scans, Ms Mitchell was given her diagnosis, something she revealed in her books pushed her into a “deep depression”.

She found an outlet in writing, starting the blog What Me and I Today? as well as penning her journey in a deeply personal 2018 memoir named Somebody I Used To Know, which became a Sunday Times best-seller.

Ms Mitchell also wrote the acclaimed 2022 book, What I Wish I Knew About Dementia, while the paperback edition of her third book, One Last Thing: Living With The End In Mind, is due to be published next week.

She also became a vocal advocate for assisted dying, which is illegal in the UK, but permitted in countries such as Switzerland and The Netherlands.

“If assisted dying was available in this country, I would have chosen it in a heartbeat, but it isn’t,” she said in her final blog post.

“I didn’t want dementia to take me into the later stages; that stage where I’m reliant on others for my daily needs; others deciding for me when I shower or maybe insisting I had a bath, which I hate; or when and what I eat and drink.

“Yes, I may be happy, but that’s irrelevant. The Wendy that was didn’t want to be the Wendy dementia will dictate for me. I wouldn’t want my daughters to see the Wendy I’d become either.”

She said in the post that she had opted for an assisted dying process in Switzerland but felt unable to travel after a fall in which she broke both her wrists.

“In the end, after my accident, the only choice open to me was to stop eating and drinking,” she said.

She added: “Adapting to this life with dementia is over, but I don’t consider dementia has won, as that would be negative and you all know I’m a positive person.

“It’s ME calling time on MY dementia – checkmate, before IT plays its final move.”

In a post on X, her daughters, Sarah and Gemma, said: “Our mum died peacefully early this morning. She wrote a blog post before she died, so you can read about it from her perspective.”

Paying tribute to Ms Mitchell, Paul Edwards, director of clinical services at Dementia UK, said everyone at the charity was “deeply saddened” by the news of her death.

“A tireless campaigner, Wendy’s writing and work helped many people understand what it is like to live with dementia, as well as giving a powerful voice to those living with the condition,” he said.

“Wendy spoke candidly about how her dementia affected her, and her efforts will leave a lasting impact in the way we understand dementia and approach dementia care.

“Her contributions to our Lived Experience Advisory Panel helped to ensure the specialist dementia care we offer reflects the needs of people facing dementia.

“Our thoughts are with Wendy’s family and we send our deepest condolences at this difficult time.”

UK

Starmer urges anyone with information on Epstein case to come forward – after Andrew misses Congress deadline

Published

7 hours ago

November 23, 2025

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Starmer urges anyone with information on Epstein case to come forward - after Andrew misses Congress deadline

Sir Keir Starmer has urged anyone with information on the Jeffrey Epstein case to come forward after Andrew Mountbatten Windsor missed the deadline to appear in front of US Congress.

US legislators have criticised Andrew for what they describe as “silence” amid their probe into Epstein after he failed to respond to their request for an interview.

When asked about Andrew missing the deadline and whether the former prince should help the case in any way he can, Sir Keir said on his way to the G20 summit in South Africa: “I don’t comment on this particular case.”

He added that “a general principle I’ve held for a very long time is that anybody who has got relevant information in relation to these kind of cases should give that evidence to those that need it”.

Andrew is not legally obliged to talk to Congress and has always vigorously denied any wrongdoing.

It comes as Marjorie Taylor Greene, a loyal supporter-turned-critic of US President Donald Trump, said on Friday she is resigning from Congress in January.

Ms Greene’s resignation followed a public falling-out with Mr Trump in recent months, as the congresswoman criticised him for his stance on files related to Epstein, as well as on foreign policy and healthcare.

Members of the House Oversight Committee had requested a “transcribed interview” with Andrew in connection with his “long-standing friendship” with Epstein, the paedophile financier who took his own life in a New York prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking and conspiracy charges.

But after saying they had not heard back, Democrats Robert Garcia and Suhas Subramanyam accused Andrew of hiding.

Their statement read: “Andrew Mountbatten Windsor’s silence in the face of the Oversight Democrat’s demand for testimony speaks volumes.

“The documents we’ve reviewed, along with public records and Virginia Roberts Giuffre’s testimony, raise serious questions he must answer, yet he continues to hide.

“Our work will move forward with or without him, and we will hold anyone who was involved in these crimes accountable, no matter their wealth, status, or political party. We will get justice for the survivors.”

It follows Andrew being stripped of his prince and Duke of York titles earlier this month.

He had previously agreed to stop using his titles, but had expected to remain a prince and retain his dukedom, ahead of the publication of the memoirs of the late Ms Giuffre, who had accused him of sexually assaulting her when she was a teenager – an accusation he denies.

UK

Girl, 13, arrested on suspicion of murdering woman in Swindon

Published

7 hours ago

November 23, 2025

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Girl, 13, arrested on suspicion of murdering woman in Swindon

A 13-year-old girl has been arrested on suspicion of murdering a woman in Swindon.

Police said the teenager was detained following an incident in Baydon Close, Moredon, in the Wiltshire town on Friday evening.

Officers responded to reports of disorder inside a house. When they arrived, a woman in her 50s living at the address was found to be not breathing. She was declared dead at the scene.

There were no other reported injuries.

Detective Inspector Darren Ambrose, from Wiltshire Police’s major crime investigation team, said: “This is a serious incident in which a woman has sadly died.

“We have set up a cordon at the address while an investigation is carried out.

“I can confirm that we have arrested a teenage girl in connection with this incident and we are not looking for anyone else.”

Police have asked people not to speculate about the incident online as this could prejudice the case.

A police statement read: “Residents can expect to see an increased police presence in the area while we continue carrying out our enquiries into the woman’s death.

“The suspect remains in custody at this time.”

Police said anyone with concerns should speak with their local neighbourhood policing team, either by emailing or approaching officers in person.

UK

Rail fares to be frozen for first time in 30 years

Published

7 hours ago

November 23, 2025

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Rail fares to be frozen for first time in 30 years

Rail fares are to be frozen for the first time in 30 years, the government has announced.

Ministers promised that millions of rail travellers will save hundreds of pounds on regulated fares, including season tickets and peak and off-peak returns between major cities.

The fare freeze applies to England and services run by English train operators.

People commuting to work three days a week using flexi-season tickets will save £315 a year travelling from Milton Keynes to London, £173 travelling from Woking to London and £57 from Bradford to Leeds, the government said.

The changes are part of Labour’s plans to rebuild a publicly owned Great British Railways. Other planned changes include tap in-tap out and digital ticketing, as well as investing in superfast Wi-Fi.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the government was introducing a freeze on rail fares for the first time in 30 years, which “will ease the pressure on household finances and make travelling to work, school or to visit friends and family that bit easier”.

“We all want to see cheaper rail travel, so we’re freezing fares to help millions of passengers save money,” Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said.

“Commuters on more expensive routes will save more than £300 per year, meaning they keep more of their hard-earned cash.”

Rail unions and passenger groups welcomed the move, praising how it will make travel more affordable for passengers and promote more sustainable travel alternatives.

Eddie Dempsey, general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union, said: “More affordable fares will encourage greater use of public transport, supporting jobs, giving a shot in the arm to local economies and helping to improve the environment.”

TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said the rail fare freeze “will be a huge relief to working people”.

“This is the right decision, at the right time, to help passengers be able to afford to make that journey they need to take, and to help grow our railway in this country, because the railway is Britain’s green alternative – taking cars and lorries off our congested roads and moving people and goods safely around our country in an environmentally-friendly way,” Mick Whelan, general secretary of the train drivers union Aslef, said.

The Tories welcomed the move but said the government was “late to the platform”.

Shadow transport secretary Richard Holden said: “In government, the Conservatives kept fares on the right track with below-inflation rises and consistently called for no further hikes to protect hard-working commuters.”