Mirror Mirror by David Allott

1st October 2023 Books

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AD | book tour – as someone who works for an active ageing charity, I see first hand the devastating effect that dementia can have on individuals and their families. This is why when a slot on the
Mirror Mirror: Facing the hard truth of “dementia care” for sufferers & their families in the UK book tour came up, I was eager to take a look. Especially as this is the kind of situation or clients and their families face every day.

Table of Contents

THE BLURB

The true cost of anything is the price we pay for the alternative.

David and Margaret’s story is, sadly, not unique. Margaret was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in early 2018. This is the real-life story of the husband and wife’s journey to seek support and care over the past few years. David shares their experience of dementia “care” so that anyone caring for – or living with – dementia can learn from what happened to them, and hopefully avoid the many obstacles, challenges and pitfalls that they had to overcome.

One in every 14 people aged 65+ have dementia, that’s around 900,000 people, and the numbers are increasing rapidly every year. This book is an invaluable resource for anyone embarking on the journey to seek care and support for their loved one once symptoms of dementia set in. From getting a diagnosis to getting the right kind of support for them – and you – written with raw passion and from the heart, Mirror, Mirror is dedicated to the memory of Margaret. And to help every other person feeling lost right now.

WHAT I THOUGHT ABOUT MIRROR MIRROR

If I’m honest I am not sure how I feel about this one. I can’t say I enjoyed Mirror Mirror – as it’s just not that kind of book so enjoyed it not the right word. However, I felt it to be important, relevant and sadly, the cruel reality for so many people. In fact, the overall feeling it left me with is sadness. That someone needs to fight this hard for their loved ones shouldn’t happen in a western world. Especially one that holds their NHS system on such a pedestal.

Mirror Mirror does come with some flaws though. There is no doubt that David Allott is ANGRY (justifiably so), and that anger seeps from every sentence. That anger means that the narrative is often difficult to follow as David jumps between topics giving an incredible amount of detail. The tirades against an unfair system lose their narrative a little and the level of detail with regards to the framework struggled to hold my attention. Though I admit that this is most likely due to the fact I am – thankfully – not living this reality. What it does do though, is make Mirror Mirror a great source of information for anyone facing a similar struggle with getting support for dementia care in England, as he has done much of the hard work for you, wading through legislation and framework documentation.

Where Mirror Mirror really came into its own for me though, is when we got a glimpse into David and Margaret’s life and got to see the impact for them on a personal level. I connect with people and their stories that that is something that Allott did well. He told their truth and very kindly gave a view into their world in such a way that the love and care shone though. This is a man who no doubt loves his wife and will do everything he can to make sure he fights for her rights.

What it does mean, is that Mirror Mirror is no doubt incredibly biased, but it is also someone’s personal account. This is David – and of course Margaret’s – story and he gets to tell it how he wants to.

So, if you are looking for a balanced view, this is not the place to come. If you are looking for the other side of the story, then this is not the place to come. But if you are looking for an open, honest and often vulnerable account of one mans experience of dealing with a very flawed system, then David Allott delivers it in spades.

Mirror Mirror is available to buy now from Amazon and other book retailers.

Like the sound of Mirror Mirror? Then why not check out some of the other blogs and accounts on the tour to learn more.