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I Woke Up in the Future
Naomi Jacobs went to sleep one night in 2008 as a 32-year-old mother, and woke up the next morning believing she was a fifteen-year-old school girl. She did not recognise the house she woke up in, though it was hers, nor her ten-year-old son, Leo. As far as she was concerned, she was in 1992 when John Major was Prime Minister, before the world had been blessed with mobile phones, DVDs or reality TV. She didn't know it, but she had dissociative amnesia.
With the help of her personal diaries and those close to her, Naomi set about piecing together as much as she could of her missing years. What she discovered shocked her. As she dug deeper, she began to experience disturbing flashbacks of traumatic events. Would Naomi ever find her way back to the person she once was? Did she even want to? Funny and moving, Forgotten Girl is ultimately an inspiring story of loss and redemption, and the power of second chances.
This book's title is Forgotten Girl in the UK, and I Woke up in the Future in Australia/NZ.
With the help of her personal diaries and those close to her, Naomi set about piecing together as much as she could of her missing years. What she discovered shocked her. As she dug deeper, she began to experience disturbing flashbacks of traumatic events. Would Naomi ever find her way back to the person she once was? Did she even want to? Funny and moving, Forgotten Girl is ultimately an inspiring story of loss and redemption, and the power of second chances.
This book's title is Forgotten Girl in the UK, and I Woke up in the Future in Australia/NZ.
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First published January 16, 2014
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About the author
Naomi Jacobs
1 book3 followersNaomi Jacobs was born in Liverpool, raised in the West Midlands and now resides in Manchester United Kingdom with her teenage son Leo and her cat Sophia.
Her true story 'I Woke Up In The Future' first appeared in the Guardian Weekly Magazine in 2008 and since then has gone on to reach all corners of the world.
In 2011, her story became a global phenomenon and has appeared in publications such as Psychologies magazine, Pride magazine, The New York Post, The Independent, Woman magazine and Tovima.
Naomi has also spoken extensively about her real life experience of a rare dissociative amnesia on BBC Radio Manchester, BBC Radio 4 and BBC World Radio.
She enjoy's horseriding, running, watching Sci-Fi movies, reading and eating chocolate.
Naomi has a BSC in Psychology and Forgotten Girl (UK) I Woke Up In The Future (Aus) is her first non-fiction book.
Her true story 'I Woke Up In The Future' first appeared in the Guardian Weekly Magazine in 2008 and since then has gone on to reach all corners of the world.
In 2011, her story became a global phenomenon and has appeared in publications such as Psychologies magazine, Pride magazine, The New York Post, The Independent, Woman magazine and Tovima.
Naomi has also spoken extensively about her real life experience of a rare dissociative amnesia on BBC Radio Manchester, BBC Radio 4 and BBC World Radio.
She enjoy's horseriding, running, watching Sci-Fi movies, reading and eating chocolate.
Naomi has a BSC in Psychology and Forgotten Girl (UK) I Woke Up In The Future (Aus) is her first non-fiction book.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
March 10, 2019
There's some irony in the idea of a memoir about amnesia, isn't there? But that's what this is.
Jacobs was either 15 or 32 when she woke up with amnesia, depending on how you look at it. The past 17 years of her life had been inexplicably wiped out, and while she could remember certain things (some phone numbers, for example, or her son's name), she could not quite be convinced that she was really 32 and that 'smeg' was no longer a cool word.
I previously (some time ago) read I Forgot to Remember, a woman who sustained a head injury that erased all her memories: not just who people were and what had happened, but how to read and write and feed herself. She never regained those memories, eventually focussing instead on rebuilding her life and figuring out how to make things work going forward. I think I thought this would be something along those lines. It's not: it's a very different context, for one (different type of amnesia with different results), and the book ends up being much much much more about relearning the traumas that had led Jacobs to lose her memory than it is about figuring out how to go forward. In some ways it reads like fiction, which can be a positive thing in fiction but in this case left me with some questions. It kind of boggles my mind, for example, that although Jacobs saw a doctor (who didn't believe a thing she said), nobody insisted she go to hospital. Instead her friends and sister just sort of...went with it? Without any idea what had caused it? If one of my loved ones started exhibiting the same symptoms, I'd worry about aneurysms, blood clots, strokes, injuries, and tumours. Definitely made me stumble in my reading.
If you're interested in amnesia memoirs, I'd recommend I Forgot to Remember over Forgotten Girl, but I'm curious now about what else is out there.
Jacobs was either 15 or 32 when she woke up with amnesia, depending on how you look at it. The past 17 years of her life had been inexplicably wiped out, and while she could remember certain things (some phone numbers, for example, or her son's name), she could not quite be convinced that she was really 32 and that 'smeg' was no longer a cool word.
I previously (some time ago) read I Forgot to Remember, a woman who sustained a head injury that erased all her memories: not just who people were and what had happened, but how to read and write and feed herself. She never regained those memories, eventually focussing instead on rebuilding her life and figuring out how to make things work going forward. I think I thought this would be something along those lines. It's not: it's a very different context, for one (different type of amnesia with different results), and the book ends up being much much much more about relearning the traumas that had led Jacobs to lose her memory than it is about figuring out how to go forward. In some ways it reads like fiction, which can be a positive thing in fiction but in this case left me with some questions. It kind of boggles my mind, for example, that although Jacobs saw a doctor (who didn't believe a thing she said), nobody insisted she go to hospital. Instead her friends and sister just sort of...went with it? Without any idea what had caused it? If one of my loved ones started exhibiting the same symptoms, I'd worry about aneurysms, blood clots, strokes, injuries, and tumours. Definitely made me stumble in my reading.
If you're interested in amnesia memoirs, I'd recommend I Forgot to Remember over Forgotten Girl, but I'm curious now about what else is out there.
July 5, 2015
This book was sold to me as an "adventure" book: an adult woman wakes up as a fifteen-year old one morning, not recognizing anything or anyone after that age... Like popular "travel-back-in-time" movies, I thought this was going to be a fun book... I couldn't be more wrong! There is little action. There is a lot of introspection and self-analysis.
But this is not to say I didn't enjoy it, quite the opposite! But this is a serious book. The true story of a woman with "dissociative amnesia" and a fractured personality due to childhood trauma and abuse. The book tells her quest to heal her mind and her story is a ray of hope for many people suffering from stress, addiction, low self-esteem or anyone coming from a dysfunctional family.
It is a book about self-healing and self-empowerment. The only fault I could find with it is that it is a bit lengthy at times. I found it interesting because I am interested in these subjects but I remain a bit disappointed that it wasn't the adventure story that I craved!
But this is not to say I didn't enjoy it, quite the opposite! But this is a serious book. The true story of a woman with "dissociative amnesia" and a fractured personality due to childhood trauma and abuse. The book tells her quest to heal her mind and her story is a ray of hope for many people suffering from stress, addiction, low self-esteem or anyone coming from a dysfunctional family.
It is a book about self-healing and self-empowerment. The only fault I could find with it is that it is a bit lengthy at times. I found it interesting because I am interested in these subjects but I remain a bit disappointed that it wasn't the adventure story that I craved!
December 24, 2015
This book provided a perspective I'd never considered in amnesia cases - that from the point of view of the person who has suddenly lost all those years of memories, they essentially feel like a time-traveller - in this case a fifteen-year-old waking up in a 32-year-old body a la 'Suddenly 30' or the like, trying to piece together the life their adult self has created. Except in this case, there's no return to the 'present' to fix the mistakes before they happen, there's just living with it and moving on. It's psychologically fascinating, and she does a good job of capturing the different voices of her younger and adult selves as she tries to bring the pieces back together.
January 1, 2017
I found it fascinating to learn about dissociative amnesia. I learnt a lot about the mind and feel that I could apply some of what I learnt to my own life. Despite the serious themes, it was quite humorous at times.
July 13, 2019
I tried to read this book from page 290 to the end but I couldn't ITS SO BORING. I bought this book from poundland and can't wait to sell it. The lady seems Jamaican but she said she is African sooooo. Also her diary entries seem very modified as if she is trying to prove she is a good person by crying about 9/11 and getting annoyed when a couple was moving away from a Muslim family and saying that photoshopped girls cause insecurities - there is no way she thought all that full stop or if she did she didn't need to try so hard to prove she's a good person. I knew she was raped from the beginning, it was obvious the direction the book was going. Page 172 "it reminded me of when I used to tell my little sister stories so she could go to bed," I relate and forgot I used to do that too
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 5, 2019
How can anything so personal and emotional be anything less than 5 stars?
Non- fiction
The human mind is an amazing thing, that more often than not we take for granted.
Naomi wakes up without knowledge of the years since she was 15. Scared and unaware of where she or her family are.
With her sister Simone’s help, Naomi finds her answers and moves forward further with her life, than perhaps she would have done without her episode.
Naomi bravely shares with the reader her very real traumatic experiences from her past.
Non- fiction
The human mind is an amazing thing, that more often than not we take for granted.
Naomi wakes up without knowledge of the years since she was 15. Scared and unaware of where she or her family are.
With her sister Simone’s help, Naomi finds her answers and moves forward further with her life, than perhaps she would have done without her episode.
Naomi bravely shares with the reader her very real traumatic experiences from her past.
May 6, 2015
Brilliant book!
February 21, 2016
This book shows we need to value ourselves and be thankful for our life then we can forgive others. And forgiveness will bring peace to our mind and soul.
June 29, 2022
True story about a 32yr old adult who has some form of mental amnesia and one day wakes believing she is her 15year old self. Interesting and frightening to see what the human mind is capable of doing. The first doctor she sees dismisses it as trivial and she fights to get things properly understood and diagnosed. Having grown up in a dysfunctional family and suffered abuse while growing up, despite initially having a good career and good qualifications, she turns to drugs and a suicide attempt to try to block out her past, various mental issues and then this happens. Eventually she realises the only one who can really help her is herself which she finally managed if not only for her young son. The end gives lots of descriptions of conversations with mental health specialists about why her mind did this. Interesting read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 21, 2022
A beautiful recount of a real life experience of amnesia - caused by stress, rather than physical injury.
Thought it continued a little long, but reading about her reflections and closure with family members was good.
Thought it continued a little long, but reading about her reflections and closure with family members was good.
July 19, 2021
Really good read. Exiting, interesting and fascinating
August 17, 2022
Interesting account of Jacobs’ struggles with her mental health. The diary was truly an effective way to learn her struggles.
December 30, 2022
Was pretty good. Start was great 3/4 of the way through just felt like it dragged on a hit as she kept retelling the story. Loved the ending.
April 20, 2023
Le sujet est très intéressant, mais parfois le livre traine en longueurs et en explications philosophiques qui rendent la lecture un peu morne.
January 18, 2025
Interesting read
Read
February 5, 2025Will pick this up later for research
Read
February 12, 2025Well. That reminds me why I don't read non fiction.
July 17, 2015
It was an interesting story, and one that intrigued me when I first read about this book in a news article. However, it wasn't the story I expected it to be and found the writing style quite tiresome to read.
September 7, 2015
Could not finish this book...was expecting a bit more but couldnt see it actually going anywhere...got a bit bored of her reading journals and having the sads...couldnt read more than 2 or 3 pages without falling asleep!!!
Read
June 6, 2015got bored about half way through
June 11, 2015
Like other readers I lost some interest- it could have been shortened for greater effect. An interesting story of survival and the human psyche
May 15, 2016
What an incredible book. I really identified with her struggle to accept and learn to love herself no matter what life throws at her or what people think. Very inspiring
July 6, 2015
Brilliant.
October 30, 2015
Did not finish
June 5, 2015
it was ok, the beginning was good but found a got bored half way through
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews