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Slow Puncture: Living Well With Dementia
This is an account of a year in the life of Peter Berry, an ordinary man living in a sleepy Suffolk village. Happily married and running a successful business, Peter's life changes when, at the age of fifty, he is given a terminal diagnosis of early onset dementia.
Since that day, he has learned to live with his very own dementia monster. From depression and suicide attempts through to his determination to confront his dementia, Peter has embarked on a series of challenges to show that life isn't over with dementia, it's just a little different. Peter has now raised thousands of pounds for dementia charities, cycling hundreds of miles in his quest to show that life is always worth living.
When Peter meets Deb, recently retired, they embark on regular cycle rides and, as their friendship grows, Deb is able to look at her own life through the lens of Peter's dementia. In Slow Puncture, Peter tells the world what it is really like to live with a terminal condition and Deb learns to enjoy each day more fully. With a foreword by best-selling author Wendy Mitchell, author of Somebody I Used to Know, this is an inspirational look at both living in the present and coping with dementia.
Praise for Slow Puncture:
The way Peter and his wife have come to terms with the dementia that has descended on him is both humbling and uplifting. Millions of people witnessed on television the raw honesty of Peter's pain, as well as the extraordinary positivity he found from deep within his spirit. His story is an inspiration. Hugh Bonneville, film and television actor
Peter has a unique way with words: he makes you appreciate anew the preciousness of the present moment." David Bradford, editor of Cycling Weekly
Peter Berry LIVING WITH DEMENTIA
"It is important to remember, that a diagnosis of dementia is not just a diagnosis for the individual, but it’s a diagnosis for the whole family.”
Since that day, he has learned to live with his very own dementia monster. From depression and suicide attempts through to his determination to confront his dementia, Peter has embarked on a series of challenges to show that life isn't over with dementia, it's just a little different. Peter has now raised thousands of pounds for dementia charities, cycling hundreds of miles in his quest to show that life is always worth living.
When Peter meets Deb, recently retired, they embark on regular cycle rides and, as their friendship grows, Deb is able to look at her own life through the lens of Peter's dementia. In Slow Puncture, Peter tells the world what it is really like to live with a terminal condition and Deb learns to enjoy each day more fully. With a foreword by best-selling author Wendy Mitchell, author of Somebody I Used to Know, this is an inspirational look at both living in the present and coping with dementia.
Praise for Slow Puncture:
The way Peter and his wife have come to terms with the dementia that has descended on him is both humbling and uplifting. Millions of people witnessed on television the raw honesty of Peter's pain, as well as the extraordinary positivity he found from deep within his spirit. His story is an inspiration. Hugh Bonneville, film and television actor
Peter has a unique way with words: he makes you appreciate anew the preciousness of the present moment." David Bradford, editor of Cycling Weekly
Peter Berry LIVING WITH DEMENTIA
"It is important to remember, that a diagnosis of dementia is not just a diagnosis for the individual, but it’s a diagnosis for the whole family.”
133 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 6, 2020
7 people are currently reading
24 people want to read
About the author
Deb Bunt
9 books5 followersI worked for many years in a large London borough with ‘troubled families’ and specifically using my skills as a family practitioner to support parents.
Apart from my love of reading, books, classical music and exercise, I spent a good 50 years of my life supporting Arsenal with a passion which disproportionally exceeded most other things in my life. Retiring to Suffolk meant I could finally ‘divorce’ myself from my Arsenal obsession and re-focus on more meaningful things.
Meeting my friend Peter Berry has helped to untangle the complicated things in life and to focus on enjoying the here and now. The publication - and subsequent reprint - of “Slow Puncture” has certainly given me a fresh perspective on life.
I am married to Martin, have two grown up sons and two delightful grandchildren. I have also grown to accept with an irrational fondness my permanently broken shoulder or, as Peter describes it my “sticky out bone” as, without that, some of my new found perspective, as reflected in “Slow Puncture”, would be lost.
Apart from my love of reading, books, classical music and exercise, I spent a good 50 years of my life supporting Arsenal with a passion which disproportionally exceeded most other things in my life. Retiring to Suffolk meant I could finally ‘divorce’ myself from my Arsenal obsession and re-focus on more meaningful things.
Meeting my friend Peter Berry has helped to untangle the complicated things in life and to focus on enjoying the here and now. The publication - and subsequent reprint - of “Slow Puncture” has certainly given me a fresh perspective on life.
I am married to Martin, have two grown up sons and two delightful grandchildren. I have also grown to accept with an irrational fondness my permanently broken shoulder or, as Peter describes it my “sticky out bone” as, without that, some of my new found perspective, as reflected in “Slow Puncture”, would be lost.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
November 26, 2021
I wish I had read this book while I was caring for Mom and Dad.
In this cooperative project about dementia, friendship, and adventure Peter Berry, who received a diagnosis of early onset dementia at the age of fifty, and Deb Bunt, a world traveler who retired to rural Suffolk, share a candid account of what dementia looks like from the inside as well as the outside. Berry fights his dementia monster by reducing him to a cartoonish caricature and by devising biking challenges, accepting speaking engagements, and writing this book. The insights he drops into conversations with Bunt over coffee and cake are insightful and often stunning, but they are almost immediately forgotten – but not by Bunt. He says that having her to chronicle their journeys and adventures is like having a memory outside his head.
Berry’s insights and his approach to life give those of us on the outside a tiny peek at what the world looks like through a mind clouded by dementia, and Deb’s empathetic responses give the rest of us some idea of how to have a respectful and loving relationship with those with dementia. Berry says that he tries to make life about the “I can do’s” rather than the “I can’t do’s.” Bunt says that while others suffer from dementia, he has learned to live with it – with an emphasis on the living part. But just when his coping mechanisms and showmanship lull the reader into thinking dementia is not so bad, he says something like this: You know, in life, most people walk towards the light, but people with this condition are walking away from it. So, here’s my plan, when I have to, I’m going to walk backwards so I will still see the light.
This may have been the easiest five-star rating I’ve ever given. I loved this book and highly recommend it.
In this cooperative project about dementia, friendship, and adventure Peter Berry, who received a diagnosis of early onset dementia at the age of fifty, and Deb Bunt, a world traveler who retired to rural Suffolk, share a candid account of what dementia looks like from the inside as well as the outside. Berry fights his dementia monster by reducing him to a cartoonish caricature and by devising biking challenges, accepting speaking engagements, and writing this book. The insights he drops into conversations with Bunt over coffee and cake are insightful and often stunning, but they are almost immediately forgotten – but not by Bunt. He says that having her to chronicle their journeys and adventures is like having a memory outside his head.
Berry’s insights and his approach to life give those of us on the outside a tiny peek at what the world looks like through a mind clouded by dementia, and Deb’s empathetic responses give the rest of us some idea of how to have a respectful and loving relationship with those with dementia. Berry says that he tries to make life about the “I can do’s” rather than the “I can’t do’s.” Bunt says that while others suffer from dementia, he has learned to live with it – with an emphasis on the living part. But just when his coping mechanisms and showmanship lull the reader into thinking dementia is not so bad, he says something like this: You know, in life, most people walk towards the light, but people with this condition are walking away from it. So, here’s my plan, when I have to, I’m going to walk backwards so I will still see the light.
This may have been the easiest five-star rating I’ve ever given. I loved this book and highly recommend it.
November 8, 2021
Everyone with Alzheimer’s needs a friend willing to listen to their story. Yet Deb Bunt, Peter Berry's fellow cyclist, provides much more. She shares a unique window into the mind of someone grappling with this disease. Peter's story is like his personality—full of humor, courage, wit and insight. These qualities allow the reader to experience without being pulled down too deeply into the disturbing reality of Alzheimer's--what it's like to live moment by moment with the past vanishing behind you. Pedaling for miles by Peter's side, Deb captures his cycling and life journey with eloquence and poignant prose, and she makes it clear that she receives just as much from their friendship as Peter does. Slow Puncture will remind you not only of the resilience of the human spirit, but that it's possible to lift up, speak for and save each other when we listen with the heart.
August 3, 2023
An amazing insight into living well with dementia. Peter describes living with dementia in a way that anyone can grasp. It has helped me to better understand what a family member is going through. Peter's future is bleak yet his ability to seize the day is inspiring and and his friendship with Deb deeply touching.
May 4, 2021
Full disclosure, I know both the authors of this book personally, so perhaps can’t be said to be wholly unbiased in this review.
That being said, I would recommend giving this a read.
As the book points out, no one person with dementia is the same and meeting one person with dementia doesn’t make you an expert. But that’s hardly the point.
Charles Dickens once wrote,“A wonderful fact to reflect upon, that every human creature is constituted to be that profound secret and mystery to every other”.
The point is that even the most outwardly cheerful among us can struggle and that you never know what’s going on for someone else.
It’s a lesson about the importance of not labelling someone or writing them off. It’s a reminder of the importance of friendship and of being kind.
That being said, I would recommend giving this a read.
As the book points out, no one person with dementia is the same and meeting one person with dementia doesn’t make you an expert. But that’s hardly the point.
Charles Dickens once wrote,“A wonderful fact to reflect upon, that every human creature is constituted to be that profound secret and mystery to every other”.
The point is that even the most outwardly cheerful among us can struggle and that you never know what’s going on for someone else.
It’s a lesson about the importance of not labelling someone or writing them off. It’s a reminder of the importance of friendship and of being kind.
November 20, 2020
Such a well done book about a very sensitive subject, defying all stereotypes about dementia. It also defies the jokes we make about our own forgetfulness as we age. Peter Berry is a decent, decent man, Peter The Showman as he is so often referred to in the book. I really appreciate that it is just the story of this man, by his good friend Deb, and it is not peppered with research and the voices of "authorities". It is just the two of them speaking. You might also think it could be depressing but Peter's upbeat and optimistic personality shines through the whole story. It is so good!
.
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February 5, 2021
Peter's incredible experience is the proof of the strengths and abilities of people living with dementia. An inspiration and and an ode to life.
March 4, 2024
Peter Berry is an extraordinary and inspiring man. At the age of 50 he was diagnosed with early onset dementia. After initially being overwhelmed and devastated by this diagnosis he then determined to ‘live well’ with dementia by challenging himself to cycle hundreds of miles, quite often on a penny farthing. In Slow Puncture, which he wrote with his friend and cycling partner, Deb Bunt, they document his experience and the gradual worsening of the condition. Far from being a ‘difficult’ read, Slow Puncture is full of humour, wisdom and poignancy. It gives honest insight into a condition of which I think many of us have a very stereotyped understanding but, above all, it explains how Peter is able to ‘live well’ with the condition by training himself to live entirely in the moment. As he says, if he’s going to forget everything after 5 minutes he’s determined to enjoy each 5 minute slot for what it is.
I’d recommend this book to everyone, not just those wanting to find out more about dementia.
I’d recommend this book to everyone, not just those wanting to find out more about dementia.
August 24, 2022
This page-turner of a memoir about a man with early-onset Alzheimer’s is told with insight, warmth, and humor. After meeting Peter Berry and learning of his battle with dementia, writer Deb Bunt makes it her mission to help him tell his story to the world. We get inside the head of a man living with dementia in a way I had never encountered as a reader, and hadn’t even thought possible for a writer to achieve. Peter’s courage and charisma make for a story that is heartbreaking but uplifting at the same time. The unexpected part is the strong bond these two people form, and the powerful and positive impact they have on each other’s lives.
I’m reluctant to describe this solely as a “must read” for anyone dealing with a friend or family member’s dementia. It is, but that description is too limiting. Anyone who likes reading remarkable, inspiring real-life stories will enjoy and admire this book.
I’m reluctant to describe this solely as a “must read” for anyone dealing with a friend or family member’s dementia. It is, but that description is too limiting. Anyone who likes reading remarkable, inspiring real-life stories will enjoy and admire this book.
February 6, 2022
A lovely book about a lovely man. Deb Bunt does not hold back on her affection for him, or the plethora of metaphors that are liberally sprinkled throughout the book. Yet dementia is such a complex condition that the only and most effective way of describing it is through the use of metaphor. Both my parents had dementia and Peter’s words always convey and give meaning to a condition that defies meaning and can strip a life of purpose. Yet this is the story of a man who lives with dementia, and not dies with it. Yes, at some point the sad fact is, that will happen, but in the meantime Peter will be a larger than life character that is an example to us all.
February 10, 2022
This is a very entertaining and life-affirming book.
The story is told through the dual perspectives of Deb and her friend Peter as they navigate the challenges that dementia presents. The approach works really well and I felt very close to both of them as I was reading. Through the sharp, effectiveness of the language, the dark, gritty humour, the emotional honesty, and the pithy philosophical reflections, I felt I was taken along their journey with them. Very much taken along 'for the ride' (For those who haven't read it yet, the book centres on their mutual love of cycling - I couldn't resist the pun).
The story is told through the dual perspectives of Deb and her friend Peter as they navigate the challenges that dementia presents. The approach works really well and I felt very close to both of them as I was reading. Through the sharp, effectiveness of the language, the dark, gritty humour, the emotional honesty, and the pithy philosophical reflections, I felt I was taken along their journey with them. Very much taken along 'for the ride' (For those who haven't read it yet, the book centres on their mutual love of cycling - I couldn't resist the pun).
January 10, 2026
Deb re-gifts Peter his eloquent voice, enabling him to share, in a way he no longer can, the daily struggles and indignities of fighting his dementia monster. Following his diagnosis, Peter and his wife were given little or no support. A chance meeting with Deb led to a fulfilling friendship for them both and a new purpose for Peter: giving others the help he’d lacked. It also gave Deb a wholesome new direction after a challenging career had eroded her faith in humanity. Deb deftly conveys Peter’s character and personality through her narrative and dialogue, using Peter’s own words, his unique verbal tics and extraordinarily evocative metaphors. In doing so, she paints a picture of him ‘building his own shelter from the dementia storm’, and offers encouragement and hope to many people living with this terrible diagnosis, and their families who suffer it with them.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews