Dementia From an Insider's Perspective

Christine started her career working in the pharmaceutical industry in the UK, and then moved into science publishing in the UK, Holland, and Australia. She became a senior executive in the Australian civil service, providing advice to the Prime Minister on science and technology.

Following her diagnosis with Alzheimer's Disease in 1995, she wrote her first book “Who will I be when I die"? (HarperCollins 1998) and has been a strong advocate for people with dementia, addressing conferences around the world and appearing in the media. You can read some of Christine's articles, and transcripts of her interviews here on our Links and Downloads page.

In 2001 Christine was the first person with dementia to give a plenary address to the international conference of Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI). Then in 2003 she was the first person with dementia to be elected to the Board of Alzheimer's Disease International, a position she held for three years. She has given many talks and interviews in her home country of Australia, as well as elsewhere such as Japan, New Zealand, Canada, UK, France, Israel, South Africa, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Taiwan, South Korea and Turkey.

Christine was very active in Japan from 2003 to 2007. Her books, media appearances and talks were a small contribution to an overall effort to improve the support for people with dementia and their professional and family caregivers. You can now view a documentary about the changes in Japan that have come about in part through Christine’s efforts to change attitudes towards people with dementia, so that they are encouraged and helped to live life to the full. Please click here to view the documentary.

Christine wrote her second book, “Dancing with Dementia”, in 2004, under her married name of Bryden. This was in response to many requests for updates on her new life in the slow lane of dementia. In fact it was commissioned by the Japanese publisher of her first book, for launch at the international conference in Kyoto in October 2004. Later it was published in the UK, by Jessica Kingsley Publishers in 2005. It talks of how she met Paul, and describes what it is like to have dementia and what you can do to help. It was published first in Japanese in 2004, then in English by Jessica Kingsley Publishers in 2005.

Both of her books have been published in several languages, including Japanese and, Chinese, and Korean. A German translation of the second book is planned for 2011.

Christine has an MBA, a Graduate Diploma in Counselling which she undertook post diagnosis, and a BSc (Hons) degree in biochemistry. She lives on the Sunshine Coast, near Brisbane, Australia.

Christine is a mother of three girls and now has lived long enough – defying all medical expectations - to become a grandmother. Life in the slow lane of dementia has become fulfilling in so many ways.

Christine has given many talks and written a number of articles.  Some are available for free here on our Links and Downloads page.