Book description
Fiona Phillips is one of our best-loved television presenters.
Well-known for being warm, chatty and down to earth, she attended her
local comprehensive in Southampton before studying English in
Birmingham. For over twelve years she presented GMTV, during which
time she interviewed some of the most famous and influential people on
the planet, from film stars to royalty, politicians to local heroes.
But in August 2008 Fiona announced that she was to quit the job she
loved, revealing that her father, Phil, had been diagnosed with
Alzheimer's just a year after her mother had died of the same disease
and that she had decided to devote more time to him and to her family.
Before I Forget is a wonderfully honest account of
growing up in the 1960s and 70s within a complex family. During her
childhood her father could sometimes be distant and demanding which
both saddened her and drove her to succeed, her mother always the
devoted wife and the steady heart of the family. When Fiona lands the
job at GMTV she revels in how proud they are of her achievement. When
her mother and then her father succumb to Alzheimer's we share in
Fiona's sadness as she movingly describes watching them fade away, one
moment interviewing George Clooney the next taking a call from
Pembrokeshire Social Services to say that her mother had wandered away
from her care home.
Before I Forget is an extraordinary book which will
resonate with Fiona's millions of fans and the millions of people who
day-by-day are going through, or have gone through, the same experiences.
Fiona Phillips is a television presenter who until recently presented
GMTV for over 12 years. She has presented numerous television and radio
programmes, has appeared in two feature films, writes a weekly column in
the
Daily Mirror
and is a columnist for Tesco magazine. Fiona has written widely on
Alzheimer's in newspapers and magazines and campaigns for more support
from the government for carers. In January 2009 she made the Channel
Four programme
Mum, Dad, Alzheimer's and Me
and in January 2010 followed it up with
My Family and Alzheimer's
. She lives in London with her husband and two children.
