More Than Memory Loss: Sean Wilson on Writing You Must Remember This

Published on 10 September 2026

Sean Wilson’s acclaimed novel You Must Remember This began as a way to try to understand a specific part of his nanna's dementia experience. 

“At a certain point was that she seemed to be living in many eras of her life simultaneously,” Sean said. 

“She would be interacting with us in the present but talking about her parents as if they were alive and just about to visit. I wanted to understand what that would be like for her, as a way to empathise and see the world as she may have seen it.” 

The novel is a close third-person view of a woman named Grace, who lives with dementia. 

We see everything as if from Grace’s eyes and get her perspective, which can be confusing at times when Grace is confused.  

“That was important to me: to show the reader how confusing it must be to be in that situation,” Sean said.  

However, that is a challenging task. 

“What is difficult as a writer tackling a protagonist with dementia is that we don’t hear about the experience of a person with dementia from their point of view, once they have passed a certain point of cognitive decline and they no longer know who they are,” Sean said. 

“So, we can only rely on our instincts and imagination. That’s what makes it rich ground for story - we need fiction to explore that, to try to understand and empathise with the experience of a person who can’t impart that to us.” 

It was also very important for Sean to make it clear that it’s not all tragedy, living with dementia.  

“My nan had some great times - she had a lot of laughs, there was still a lot of love there, but the love had just changed.  

I think that’s important to get across - to balance the light and the dark - because that is more truthful than a tragedy.” 

All of this will be explored at Sean’s not-to-be-missed talk at Cheltenham Library during Dementia Action Week. 

Sean promises “an interesting conversation about the book, the experience of dementia and some insights into the craft of writing fiction. I hope people are inspired to ask questions and ultimately to read the novel. “ 

Everyone is welcome! 

“Readers of fiction or anyone interested in reading more fiction and I think it will be especially relevant for anyone who knows someone living with dementia,” Sean said. 

“I think we need more sensitive accounts of the lives of older people and in particular, people with dementia, the second leading cause of death in Australia.  

Almost half a million people in Australia are living with dementia and many more are caring for them.  

We need a better understanding of their experience and how to care for them, and fiction can be a vehicle for that because we get immersed in their story in a way statistics just can’t convey.” 

Cheltenham Library
Tuesday 22 September
6:30pm – 7:30pm 

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