The Man With The Seven Second Memory

The remarkable and poignant story of Clive Wearing, a man with one of the worst cases of amnesia in the world. Once a renowned conductor and musician, Clive was struck down in 1985 by a virus that caused massive damage to his brain. Against the odds, doctors managed to save his life but he was left with a memory that spans just seven seconds.

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Produced by ITV Studios.

[johnpersechini]

He’s so charming and intelligent. “What does love mean?”

“Zero in tennis and everything in life.”
I love that quote.

[siennasky]

Imagine loving someone so much that the ONLY thing in the entire world that you can remember is them

[Yarblocosifilitico]

The way he repeats "first time I've seen a human being" is terrifying. This is true loneliness: you don't even have yourself.

[AlexanderYamada]

"Is it very hard?"

"No. It's exactly the same as being dead, which is not difficult, is it? Being dead is easy. You don't do anything at all. You can't do anything when you're dead."

God, that's heart wrenching.

[svprememe]

It's a testament to his character that, despite his condition, he is still a strikingly intelligent, charismatic and interesting person.

[dust]

he understands his situation but remembers none of it.. it's so weird

[ritakus]

He waits for her arrival, meaning he knows she's gone, even though he doesn't remember. The power of feeling is amazing.

[eye_straindigital]

This is so soul crushing. You can see in his eyes that he doesn’t know who any of these people are and why they’re talking to him. He’s stuck in an endless loop but he still retains his intelligence. He acts polite but I honestly think this is just pure torture for him. That clip of him from back in the 70s/80s where you see him visibly nauseous…terrible.

[studderist]

The best way to make him happier is to tell him jokes and then repeat the same joke that he laughs at the most

[DeyvsonMoutinhoCaliman]

Even with his brain heavily destroyed he is capable of making smarter remarks than most people.

[gideonjones]

"So millions of people know you."
"How embarassing"
I laughed with him at first, until it hit me that only 3 minutes into this documentary I already know more about him than he does. That's terrifying

[christinamoore]

Flashbacks of my own Dad. An insulin overdose stole his long and short term memory when he was 44. He was a great Dad, but he was left w/ no recall of raising my sister and me. He only remembered his own life up to the age of about 18. He had to rely on caregivers for the last 30 years of his life. As a diabetic he couldn't recall if he'd taken his insulin 5 min. ago...or eaten breakfast etc...but he was a proud former Marine and when he was unsure, he would make up an answer and deliver it w/all the conviction of someone who really knows. It was a dangerous power struggle to manage his diabetes. RIP Dad.

[cindycool]

The fact that he gets so excited to see his wife and jumps like a kid in a candy store melts my heart 😫❤️

[RevOwOlutionary]

I think what really terrifies me is that he's still so mentally present . He's not absently just existing as a vegetable, he's able to make conversation, even joking around and being quite charming. With late-stage dementia, the person will just be incoherent and confused, but Clive is a perfectly normal man who just isn't taking in any new information.

[evymbrito]

“You take my breath away “

“It’s better to not stop breathing my dear”
I am in tearsss

[asadianbelifont]

The hard part wit this poor man is that HE KNOWS. He's not living some magical life where he doesn't even know he has issues, the man recognizes that he cannot think. That hit me hard when he stated he is completely incapable of thinking, he was making concious efforts to use a part of his brain that he knows is there but just not working.

[Gooieduck]

"I've brought some flowers for that lovely wife of yours" says his son
"She's Gorgeous isn't she?" he said with such a proud grin
My heart melted :')

[kt]

His wife exudes class, beauty and elegance what a wonderful strong loving lady

[quoodle]

Somehow the worst part is how he’s obviously ‘still there’. He’s the same person, but trapped.

[kidyomu]

It's very interesting how he talks about his memory, it's not like he has this vague idea of having done stuff in the past and known people even if he doesn't remember specifics, he legitimately feels like he just now started existing and he hasn't ever seen another human being before.