Terry Prachett
Headline:
I'm not beaten yet: Terry Prachett on the frustration and fury of Alzheimer's
Synopsis:
He can no longer drive and struggles to dress himself but Terry Prachett, creator of the cult Discworld books, refuses to be broken by Alzheimer's.
Author Terry Pratchett has coined a word to describe the dementia with which he was diagnosed last year. He calls it an ' embuggerance', which deftly expresses his frustration at the encumbrance it represents. He recalls the fury and isolation he felt when he was told he had Alzheimer's: 'When Satan was cast into the pit of hell and raged at heaven, he was only a trifle miffed compared to how I felt that day,' he says. 'I felt totally alone, with the world receding from me in every direction.'
Although he calls it a 'wretched disease', since disclosing that he has it, he has retained his dark sense of comedy. He began an address to his latest convention of fans by cracking a joke. 'I said, "Hello my name is..." Then I retrieved a crumpled piece of paper from my pocket and read out my name,' he recalls.
- Publish date:
- 8 November 2008
- Author:
- Frances Hardy
- Source:
- Daily Mail
- Media:
